Is this a Sign?

We've been racking our brains, praying and scouring baby names websites for the longest time, and we didn't seem to make much progress in finding a name we both liked and which fitted our criteria. We shortlisted a few but we weren't completely satisfied with any of them.

Ariel - lion of God
Arielle - lion of God
Alyssa - noble, rational
Emma - universal, all-embracing
Emily - industrious, hardworking

After months of mulling, we were leaning towards Arielle - we like the meaning, it sounds sweet and feminine, and it's not too common. But would we pronounce it as AIR-ee-ell, ARR-ee-elle, or air-ee-ELLE? If we went with ARR-ee-elle or air-ee-ELLE, would it sound too pretentious? Would she be teased in school and called a little mermaid? Or a sans serif font?

A few nights ago, while surfing the net aimlessly, we decided to try out a Baby Name Advisor which analyses the parents' names and meanings and then generates a baby name. We were stunned.


Could it be a coincidence? What were the odds? Was it a sign? We decided it must be. :D

Now came the Chinese / Dialect name question. Would we go with my family's very helpful suggestions of:

Ho Lim
Ho Jiak
Ho Kua
Ho Kun
Ho Sei
OR......... Ho Sanna?

So far, we quite like 何爱蕾 hé ài lěi (爱 = love, 蕾 = bud). That would make her a loving and blossoming lion of God!

The mulling continues... we have 82 more days!