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DEL.ICIO.USName suggestions came from far, wide
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The names came from intowners and out-of-staters, from grandmothers and young fathers. They came in e-mails from Commerce, from California and from China.
Some suggested monikers for Zoo Atlanta’s baby giant panda were melodious reminders of the cub’s local connections — Mei Lan (Atlanta Beauty), for example. Others had a celestial bent — Ming Xing (Bright Star) and Ming Yue (Bright Moon), among others.
Still others underscored the fact that Southern folk can embrace a visitor from China as quickly as they’ll hug a cousin from China Grove. How else to explain “Hai Yall” or “Scarlett O’Beara”?
The name entries came, literally, in the thousands, said Dennis Kelly, president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta.
Now, the zoo has 10 names from which people can choose by voting online at ajc.com. The voting began at 12:01 a.m. Friday and runs through Dec. 10. The winner will be announced in a ceremony Dec. 15.
“We’d be happy with any of the names” selected for the cub, Kelly said.
The female cub, born Sept. 6 to Lun Lun and Yang Yang, will be 100 days old when her name is announced. Her naming will highlight a Chinese tradition in which parents gave a child an official name after he or she had reached 100 days old — and stood a good chance of surviving past infancy. Now, China has adopted that custom in choosing names for its national icon, pandas.
The 100-day ceremony also is an optimistic look to the future, said Jinping Yu, a conservation biologist at Zoo Atlanta. “One hundred days symbolizes 100 years that we wish for a child to live,” he said. “It is a wish for good luck.”
The unnamed panda at Zoo Atlanta has known nothing but good fortune since she emerged, hairless as a boiled egg and not much bigger, nearly three months ago. She’s grown steadily, and the staff that keeps constant track of her development has ticked off milestones in her growth. She should be walking soon.
“She’s doing great,” Kelly said.
The selection process was equal parts democracy and common sense. Anyone with access to a computer could submit a name, but only sensible entries had a chance. “This name,” Jinping noted, “will stay for the rest of her life.”
Eight names were nominated by American outlets; two came from China.
Four Atlanta TV stations, as well as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, solicited online suggestions. People from all over the country and other nations logged on with names that ranged from goofy (“Bling-Bling”) to genteel (“Beautiful Peach”)
(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s choice came from online entries made via the panda blog at ajc.com. The AJC’s marketing department reviewed the suggestions and chose one as the newspaper’s official entry.)
The restaurant chain Panda Express, a sponsor, submitted a sixth name.
Zoo Atlanta’s employees and volunteers also were invited to submit names for two finalists. On Nov. 16, behind closed doors, they winnowed their list to two.
Jinping, a Chinese national, translated the eight entries into Mandarin Chinese before they made the final cut. “Beautiful Peach”, for example, became “may-tao.” Another Chinese national, a member of the zoo’s board of directors, also reviewed the submissions.
In China, residents of Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province of China — birthplace of Lun Lun and Yang Yang — submitted thousands of names. Two emerged from those.
The 10 finalists, Kelly said, passed cultural standards. None is offensive to Eastern or Western tastes. All the names were approved by Zoo Atlanta and Chinese officials, which could have rejected any of them.
Four refer to Atlanta, or the peach that is synonymous with Georgia. Another is a reference to the Yangtze River, China’s largest river. Two more are reminders that the cub is a real head-turner.
“We have one of the cutest and most favored animals on the planet,” Kelly said.
That’s no news to Georgia Supreme Court Justice Leah Sears, a confirmed panda-watcher. Sears viewed the names online Thursday morning and made her ruling: Mei Li, she thinks, is best. It means “beautiful.”
The name, said Sears, simultaneously evokes images of the Far East and the Deep South — a Chinese name, sure, but it has a certain drawl, too.
“She’s a southern American and a Chinese,” Sears said. Her name, the justice said, “reflects her heritage.”
A woman of her convictions, the judge plans to vote early — often, too.
Comments
By alexis
November 30, 2006 09:11 PM | Link to this
She is so cute!!!!
By catlady
December 1, 2006 07:29 AM | Link to this
It is refreshing to have something happy and good to think about!
By Betty
December 1, 2006 08:05 AM | Link to this
I love the name Bright Star!! I feel that it say’s what I think of her that she is a bright star to me!! I have been watching her since she was born! I feel she is beautiful like a Bright Star you see in the sky at night & that she is a blessing just like the stars we see in the sky!!
By Panda Baby Watcher
December 1, 2006 08:16 AM | Link to this
This has been a wonderful experience for me and the City of Atlanta. I was immediately hooked the first time I saw “baby” on the web cam. I watch her and Lun Lun all day every day! Lun Lun is such a gentle and caring mother. I can’t wait to see “baby” run around. I’m sure Lun Lun will have her hands full trying to keep up with her.
By MEI TAO
December 1, 2006 08:36 AM | Link to this
Please vote for MEI TAO so our sweet cub will be forever known as BEAUTIFUL PEACH! Thank you from the Panda-Gram!
By Mary
December 1, 2006 08:48 AM | Link to this
Think it is a great idea to pick a name for a panda. That panda is a cutie. Be nice if they named her Ching Ling. Oh well, better luck next time. What ever she’s named, that’ll suit us fine. Good luck. Take care. Mary & Family.
By Paula
December 1, 2006 08:49 AM | Link to this
I really like the names that begin with Mei…the cub (I now call her CubCub) is certainly a beauty…but for those panda lovers in the DC area, we already have a Mei — Mei Xiang (“beautiful fragrance”), Tai Shan’s mother. We’ll all be so confused around here if this cub ends up with Mei as part of her name, because we love all of the pandas we have here, and with the PandaCam, we can watch them from anywhere!
By Paula
December 1, 2006 08:51 AM | Link to this
Please vote for Xiao Tao
Ever since she has been born all I can think about is that she is our “Little GA Peach”!
By Headhunter
December 1, 2006 08:59 AM | Link to this
They all suck.
By Mei Tao
December 1, 2006 09:09 AM | Link to this
Here are my two cents about the name choiced and why I voted the way I did.
I avoided all the rhyming names, its been done. That included: Xiao Tao (shao-tao) “little peach”, Ming Xing (ming-shing)”bright star”, Chang Jiang (chung-jung)”Yangtze River”
I didn’t like any of the ones that ended in ung or ing. To me they sound like boy names. So that eliminated: Ping Bao “peacefulness and precious treasure”, Cheng Ya “pretty Atlanta girl from Chengdu” and Ming Yue “bright moon”
I was left with the three Mei’s Mei Ta, Mei Lan and Mei Li because Tai Ji sounded like a karate like term.
So my favorite is #2 * Mei Tao * (may-tao) “beautiful peach” because I like the peach (GA) reference.
Please vote for one of the Mei names
By mike jones
December 1, 2006 09:32 AM | Link to this
I like the name “Boo Boo”.
By Bob
December 1, 2006 09:33 AM | Link to this
MEI LAN should be the choice because if the animal is relocated, everyone will have knowledge of the true birthplace, Atlanta.
By Yuan
December 1, 2006 09:33 AM | Link to this
Among the 10 names listed I vote for “Cheng Ya”.
The reason I like this name is firstly because Cheng is the first character of Cheng Du, the place where both Yang Yang and Lun Lun come from; Ya is the pronunciation of the first character of Ya Te Lan Da (the Chinese translation of Atlanta), the birth place of the cub. Secondly because, to me, the clever part of this name is that a 女 is added to the first character of the word Ya (in 亚ya特te兰lan大da, Atlanta), 亚 becomes 娅, but still maintains the same pronunciation of Ya. The added character女 in Chinese language means “female”, so by adding 女 to character 亚 makes the name very feminine. Thirdly because in a Chinese name, the first character of a name is always the family name, the remaining part, either one character or two characters, is the given name. So in our case, I consider Cheng, in Cheng Ya, the family name and Ya is the given name. Also a Chinese family, when calling their baby, has a tendency of doubling the sound of a given name, an endearment, especially when the given name is a single character one; so in our case, the family can just call the baby Ya Ya, which also happens to be a very cute Chinese given name for a very cute little girl.
Among the 10 listed names I like the name Cheng Ya best, so I can just shorten it to YaYa!
By cora
December 1, 2006 10:57 AM | Link to this
Is there a way to vote without texting? Some kids do not have access to texting. Kids should be able to vote. Not every parent allows their kid to text let alone have a cell phone.
By MEI TOO
December 1, 2006 11:15 AM | Link to this
Just too many Mei’s around, for good reason, it has a beautiful sound and meaning. So no more Mei’s, please. My daughter likes Bing Bang. Anywy, once she graduates from being CubCake, this little Georgia beauty will always be Peaches to me.
By christine, NJ
December 1, 2006 11:24 AM | Link to this
Don’t forget people this cutie goes back to China so she should have a name commemorating her birth in Altanta. Pick a name with peach in it so she stands out among the ever growing crowd of new panda cubs bred in captivity.
By KUNG PAO
December 1, 2006 11:58 AM | Link to this
That ain’t nuthin’ but a possum with some black paint around it’s eyes and on it’s legs.
By MaiDingaLing
December 1, 2006 12:14 PM | Link to this
I’ve got one of those that gets in my trash can during the night. I call him Dumpster Pup. That’s a good name for it.
By christine, NJ
December 1, 2006 12:15 PM | Link to this
There is nothing wrong with another panda named Mei. Let me explain the tradional chinese naming custom. All the gals in the family have a common name, Mei (beautiful) is a popular choice for obvious reason. Then each gal has another name. That one is often used in double as a term of endearment, for instance, Mei Tao will be called Tao Tao. Isn’t this darling?
By MaiDingaLing
December 1, 2006 12:21 PM | Link to this
Darling?? Darling??? Not by a long shot. I’d call animal control on that thing if I ever saw it.
By christine, NJ
December 1, 2006 12:45 PM | Link to this
please go the atlanta zoo panda blog & other links to understand the huge amount of time & resources invested in the panda breeding program. And let us wallow in the joy & glory of this success, there are too many ignorant sour puss out there!
By MaiDingaLing
December 1, 2006 02:01 PM | Link to this
As a member of Zoo Atlanta and a frequent visitor to that facility, my personal time and resources are most definitely invested. I have contributed to the fund financing the webcam operations. I invite all who live out of state to view the webcam at my expense! I saw ol’ Dumpster Pup ‘wallow’ first hand!!! I’ve still got animal control on the speed dial though.
By christine, NJ
December 1, 2006 02:35 PM | Link to this
MaiDingaLing, please get off this fan site for the baby panda & let us celebrate the success of the hard work over 3 years at the zoo. Find something else to do with your time.
By MaiDingaLing
December 1, 2006 02:42 PM | Link to this
I think that paint would be toxic to a possum. There must be some other explanation.
By mouseedung
December 1, 2006 03:19 PM | Link to this
DingaLing you must have eaten lead paint chips as a child. Go to the Regular Guys blog where you belong and let these people talk about BlingBling.
By MaiDingaLing
December 1, 2006 03:34 PM | Link to this
My experience with lead paint is precisely why I’m concerned with Dumpster Pup’s health. It’s quite toxic, as are “The Regular Guys”. However, ‘BlingBling’ does have a certain RingRing to it. Pandamonium - What ensues after the paint on Dumpster Pup’s fur is cleaned off with plutonium.
By KUNG PAO
December 1, 2006 04:03 PM | Link to this
LOL Ling! Then there would be a Pandemic!
By JCM
December 1, 2006 05:11 PM | Link to this
Ha! CubCake… that’s the downright cutest suggestion so far. Too bad it didn’t make the cut! Since we’re now restricted to the official list of 10 names, I’ll choose Mei Tao. “Beautiful Peach” comjures very nice images of both the City of Atlanta(the Big Peach) and our state of Georgia (the Peach State).
(Of course, in our hearts she will always be known as our little Bling Bling.)
By MaiDingaLing
December 1, 2006 05:22 PM | Link to this
I’m with you JCM. You and Mou-See-Dung convinced me. I’m all for BlingBling now. Captures the city like only we Atlantans can understand! (I’m ALWAYS sportin’ some bling!) I guess that I’ll have to set a trap for my own little Dumpster Pup, or call animal control. They’re on my speed dial you know.