A WOMAN explained that she is about to move to the UK from Korea but was concerned about her daughter’s name.
She explained that her child was due to go to secondary school but that she didn’t want her to get bullied.
The mum explained that her daughter would need to change her name in the UKCredit: Getty
The parent appealed for others to help her find a suitable nickname that will save her daughter any embarrassment.
Taking to Mumsnet, she said: “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 ‘m****’ 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.”
Fellow Mumsnet users were quick to comment on the problem.
One said: “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.”
Another said: “I think Minnie or Gigi are cute and easily recognisable from her name. Or spell it Minzy.”
But another pointed out: “In some regions Minnie is also used to refer to female (usually female child) genitalia.”
Another said: “I’d go for Minzi and shorten to Min (if she wants).
“I’m sure she’ll learn to cope if people are mean to her. Secondary school can be character building!”
While another said: “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.”