Something I realized
 

Everything is going really well with me and Haruka..
But one thing that is kinda bothering me..

Everyone asks her name everwhere she goes... Well..I didn't expect that every single person would ask that.. I mean.. when I see dogs, I usually ask the owner if I could pad them. But then I never really ask their name.. I might ask if the dog is a boy or a girl. But then.. like today.. and when I was coming back from PA, billions of people asked me her name. WEll.. I don't mind telling people her name.. But then.. people make faces.. because it is not Western name.. then I explain to every single person.. I guess it is okay.. but I just wished that I would be happy with western name just for the reason..

ANyway I still love the name, Haruka!! It has really beautiful meaning in Japanese.. so I guess I could just be patient with that :)

I have been following your story and I think the name is perfect.... I am happy for you, maybe I will get lucky soon and get me a baby sister for Tootie!
Donna

:) I wouldn't worry about people's reaction to her name, some people would probably do the same with a western name. I think it's beautiful and even more so once you told us what it meant. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl, that's all that matters. :)

I think Haruka is a beautiful name. Besides, nothing is cuter than the chan suffix, which can't be used with western names (Well it can, but it sounds weird. Molly-chan? Ick!)

Ya you can hear me calling her "Haruka -chan" on the video clips on Haruka's site... I love the sound too "Haruka-chan" :) Ahhhhhhhhhh :) makes me smile..

I get something similar to that with Starsky's name. When they ask they always say ahhh cute name, is there a Hutch at home! NO! and I have to explain why I named him Starsky (from Hutchinson, Kansas)

Now we are getting Shylah and I am sure I will be asked about that name too. It does have some meaning. In Celtic (and we are really into Celtic things) it means Strong women, and in Hindy it means Goddess, so her full name is Shylah, Goddess of Strenght. Just call her Shy.

ya.

I like names that have beautiful meanings. There are tons of cute western names.. but then I am not sure what those names mean.. that is why I picked this name... Spring means a lot in Japanese culture.. and I just love it!

Yeah, it's a beautiful name...don't let it bother you if not everyone likes it, as long as YOU like it!

My son has an unusual (western) name---not "strange", just, not heard very often. And you can tell that not everyone likes it when they first hear it. But later, they always say it fits him!

Now you made me curious! What's his name? (If you don't mind telling...) :aimeeyork

I love Haruka and it's meaning!

We are asked for Mitzis name all the time. For me it has a special meaning that it is a German name since I'm German and my husband named her long before he met me. Destiny? (I'm just thinking that would be a nice name too!):aimeeyork

Don't worry about it!! I usually name all of my animals with a Native American name for the meaning. For example, I have a horse named Helaku, meaning sunny day, which goes with her color. I had a dog named Hinto, who was a blue merle australian shepherd, meaning blue from the tribe of Dakota (his moms name was Dakota, so it was perfect). One of his sisters was named Ciqala, meaning little one, because she was the runt of the litter and needed bottle fed. Last but not least, my cats name is Halona, meaning fortunate, because I saved her life. Moral of the story, don't worry about what people think. I absolutely love all of my animals names (past and present) I wouldn't change them for anything in the world! Others are just jealous that they can't come up with great names like we do! :D ;)

I love her name. I think it is always special to have a meaning behind the name, no matter what it is. My next little baby will either have a Hawaiian or Sanskrit name, since the Hawaiian Islands are my favorite place on earth and Sanskrit is meaningful to me because of what yoga has meant in my life. I really wish our Western names had more of a focus of the meaning behind them!

Obviously Haruka-chan is making a splash wherever she goes. Enjoy her!

I love her name, too. When people ask her name, just go ahead and tell them that her name is Haruka which means Spring in Japanese -- then think of a one liner that should even melt the coldest heart something really warm and fuzzy like I named her that because she brought to my heart the warmth of Spring after a long cold winter.

I am sure you could come up with something that sounds better. It isn't justifying her name it is sharing your love of Haruka with everyone. I wish we had sound here 'cause I would love to hear you pronounce it. I bet her name slips like poetry from your lips.

I am so glad to hear that some people feel same way and/or have unique names..

One of the big reasons that I named Haruka a Japanese name is that I have been trying to go back to my route.. ahhh kinda strange eh..

I have been living in US for almost 10 years now, and I don't even have a single Japanese person I know in US. Corinne here is part Japanese.. which is nice :) So I rarely speak Japanese... and haven't been able to visit home for over 6 years now.. Then I felt that I was almost forgetting all the beautiful things about Japan. And all the sudden I really didn't want to loose that. So I started having TV Japan on my cable (expensive! :( ) , eating Japanese food most of the days, read Japanese books...

So then when I wanted to name Haruka.. it was perfect that she was born on the first day of spring.. Spring means a lot of Japanese people.. it is the season of love, departure for something new, the time for good-bye (sentimental time because of graduation etc), young love.. hmmm what else.. it is hard to explain. Oh this is important. Spring is the time for my favorite tree, Cherry Blossom. In US, I am having a bad allegy in spring.. but in Japan spring is my favorite season...

Funny thing is that I was reading a lot of Japanese dog magazines and they tend to name western names.. I didn't see many Japanese names. Very strange.. :) I am in US trying to name my dog in Japanese... Japanese in Japan are trying to name their dogs in English ... :)

Anyway Haruka is responding to her name already (thanks to Stacy) so I am so happy about that..

I am doing too much promotion about Haruka's Blog but... on the site, there are three video clips so far on there that you can hear me calling her names.. :)

http://yorkieharuka.blogspot.com/