Beijing 2008 Mascots Inspire Chinese Baby Names

It appears that naming babies after the the event itself wasn’t enough, as swathes of Chinese parents have been branding their children based on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Mascots.

In case you didn’t know, this summer’s Olympic Games will feature five adorably cute mascots, collectively known as ‘Fuwa‘:

From the moment I saw these cuddly characters, I understood why they’ve been inspiring parents in big C.

Starting from the left, we begin with the aptly named Beibei, representing the fish, whose name has been given to 880 Chinese babies.

Next up is Jingjing, who reps the panda, and the 1,240 tots with the same name.

Centre of the pack is Huanhuan, symbolising the Olympic flame. 1,063 newborns have been given this moniker.

Carrying on, we have Yingying, the Tibetan antelope, who sadly has inspired the fewest new parents with just 624 namesakes.

Last but not least is Nini the swallow, who narrowly pipped Yingying in a photo finish, with 642.

Combine the first half of each name into one phrase, and you get ‘Welcome to Beijing’. It’s almost as if they planned it!

Source: Reuters

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