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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Please recommend a nickname or english name for Minji!!

134 replies

cinephilee · 31/12/2022 13:46

My English isn't very good, so please bear with me.

I’m Korean and my family moved to UK. My daughter is going to study at secondary school.

Her name is Minji, which is very common in Korea, but I am worried that she will be teased in English. I didn't even know the word "minge" existed.

Is it a problem if I change the spelling to Minzy? It's the same pronunciation in Korean.

Mia - heard it too much common
Gia - can struggle with how to pronounce it
Jia - it sounds like Chinese characters
Jiya - heard it's Indian name

She can name herself in English and if she wants, she can write her Korean name as it is. My daughter picked some English names, but most of them are celebrities or movie names.😂

I heard some names are class-oriented or race-oriented. So I want to narrow it down even if she choose. And I hope it's a name that can be used anywhere in the world.

Thank you.
Wish you all the best in the coming year.

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icefishing · 31/12/2022 14:48

I think Minzy would be a perfectly sensible choice.

ArnoldBee · 31/12/2022 14:42

At my son's school there is a Mais-ze which all the kids think is cool as it has a z in it so Minzy would be a good choice.

Sleepthief · 31/12/2022 14:37

How about just Min?

stairgates · 31/12/2022 14:33

Minzi for sure, its lovely. Minge would be tormented here.

whatausername · 31/12/2022 14:29

whatausername · 31/12/2022 14:22

This definitely seems the most sensible or Mia or Minnie as someone said (I've never heard irl anyone say minnie, only on Mumsnet tbh). Mia works especially well if your daughter is particularly shy and would like to fit in. Of course, I wouldn't encourage someone to always try to fit in but new country, new culture and new school? I think small things here and there to fit in would be worthwhile, again, if your daughter is shy.

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And before I look like some narrow-minded muppet about the Mia thing...I meant only if you rule out Minzy option. I was remembering how painfully shy I was as a child with an unusual name.

Sarahcoggles · 31/12/2022 14:28

KirstenBlest · 31/12/2022 14:06

I'd stick to Minji. If she says it as Min Jee maybe hyphenate the syllables, if that's an option.

I know people with names like Dick, Fanny, Pi (pee), Peter etc and it's just what they are called.

This is bad advice OP. @KirstenBlest do you have secondary school kids?

Adultchildofelderlyparents · 31/12/2022 14:27

I'd go for Minnie or Mia, so that even when using a nickname her initial is still the same.

MolkosTeenageAngst · 31/12/2022 14:23

If Minzy would be pronounced in almost the same way as Minji I would go with that. It’s quite a cool sounding name and I don’t think it matters that it’s not generally a name used in the UK, lots of children have names from other cultures which may not be familiar in UK culture and I don’t think it will be a problem.

whatausername · 31/12/2022 14:22

SkylightSkylight · 31/12/2022 14:10

I'd do what @ParbadosBeach said.

minzy is fine & the most logical option.

I'd definitely change it from her current spelling!!

Show quote history

This definitely seems the most sensible or Mia or Minnie as someone said (I've never heard irl anyone say minnie, only on Mumsnet tbh). Mia works especially well if your daughter is particularly shy and would like to fit in. Of course, I wouldn't encourage someone to always try to fit in but new country, new culture and new school? I think small things here and there to fit in would be worthwhile, again, if your daughter is shy.

PeekAtYou · 31/12/2022 14:22

Minzi is fine in my opinion. I don't know how Korean works but Min Ji or Min Zi would also work and doesn't make me think of the word minge.

RachelSq · 31/12/2022 14:21

Mimi is a nice nickname. I get why you’d be reluctant, but I’d also consider sticking with Minji, it’s her name and ignorant people shouldn’t be able to take that away. The spelling change might be sensible (unless you’ve already been using the Minji spelling) but more for the ease of pronunciation - although again I’d say this should be on other people to pronounce correctly, but I can see it being tiresome correcting constantly too.

Good luck!

JamMakingWannaBe · 31/12/2022 14:19

Mitsy or Mitzy
Maisy
Mimi

FurryDandelionSeekingMissile · 31/12/2022 14:18

Minge didn't even occur to me until you mentioned it. Probably Minji, Minzi/Minzy, Min, Mia, Gia/Jia/Jiya would all be fine, as would choosing an "English name" which I've known lots of people do (especially Chinese because of the tones not carrying across). People will probably ask for her "real name" too, if she does that, though.

whatausername · 31/12/2022 14:17

I'd go for Minzy if it's pronounced with a sort of z sound.

Most names will have a reason not to use them but not all of those reasons really matter or are a problem. I would, at a British school, avoid anything that is written as Minjy because of the 'minge' association as you said, and also because people will pronounce it with a j sound instead of a z.

I'm unsure if international names exist. There are names that generally work well in Europe and the Americas but I couldn't comment on other cultures. Anna seems to work very well across Europe and so do various forms of Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary/Maria and Margaret. Some of those names also have a lot of diminutives so would be easy to change the name a little, e.g. if spending a year or two in Malaysia she might go by Margaret, Greta, Daisy or Mags instead of Maggie.

Axahooxa · 31/12/2022 14:16

Mindy also a good choice

Notanotherusername4321 · 31/12/2022 14:16

it’s a lovely name and reflects your heritage. I wouldn’t change it.

if you want to anglicise I’d go with Minnie as a nickname. Or GiGi, that’s getting quite popular as a nn.

Axahooxa · 31/12/2022 14:16

Minzi is cool

FlounderingFruitcake · 31/12/2022 14:14

Mindy is fine and definitely makes the most sense given it’s how it’s pronounced. I know a Minzy (it’s a nickname but to the point where no one knows her ‘real’ name) and no one ever gets it wrong. Definitely not Minnie because in a lot of places it means the same as minge but would be said by a 5YO as opposed to a 15YO.

Chinnegan · 31/12/2022 14:14

Min is a nice name and wouldn't mean you had to change her name just shorten it. Mia is also nice and not that common really.

Fivebeanchilli · 31/12/2022 14:12

Honestly, I'd keep it as Minji.
I assume it is said with a slight gap between syllables so sounding more like Min Jee?
I wouldn't think twice if I heard that name.

FaceLikeCattle · 31/12/2022 14:11

I think Mia is your best bet. It's common and pretty. She's not going to stand out and everyone will know how to pronounce it.

Otherwise, I think Minzy is a really cool name.

SkylightSkylight · 31/12/2022 14:10

ParbadosBeach · 31/12/2022 13:52

If the name is pronounced Minzy I'd go with that and amend the spelling.

I'd do what @ParbadosBeach said.

minzy is fine & the most logical option.

I'd definitely change it from her current spelling!!

WarriorsComeOutToPlayaaay · 31/12/2022 14:10

I think Minzy is lovely. Minnie can be a name in its own right but can be a shortening of Minerva.

pifflesticks · 31/12/2022 14:10

Mindy?

Enko · 31/12/2022 14:09

Mimi?

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