S’poreans Can Now Choose 1 out of These 5 Names for the Little Panda Born in S’pore

By
Tan Shi Hui
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Ever since the baby panda was born, netizens have been fawning over it. Many Singaporeans were so involved in the birth that they even came up with various names for it.

After much deliberation, Mandai Wildlife Reserve has narrowed it down to five names for the public to vote on what should the little one be called.

S’poreans Can Now Choose 1 out of These 5 Names for the Little Panda Born in S’pore

From now to 7 Nov 2021, 23:59., you would be able to take part in something that’ll go down into the history books: vote for the little panda’s name.

As all panda names are unique around the world, some of the repeated names that were suggested could not be shortlisted. Thus, Mandai Wildlife Reserve has these five.

Here are the five names and what do they mean:

Hóng Hóng

“Hong” means magnificence or grand. It signifies the wishes for the panda cub to grow up magnificent and healthy.

Lè Lè

Derived from the old Chinese term “Shi Le Po”, or also known as Singapore, the term “Le” have been used since Singapore was a trading port.

The term “Shi Le Po” is also a transliteration of the Malay term “selat” which also means straits, an indication of our geographical location.

Le Le is one of the names that was suggested by various netizens. Some said that the panda name should start with an “L” since the mother’s name starts with “J” and the father’s name starts with “K”.

Le Le can also represent joy in the eyes of the netizens.

Xīn Lè

Similar to Le Le, Xin Le represents joy. However, it is not any joy but “new joy”. Aside from representing “new joy”, Xin Le can also signify Singapore’s joy.

A new joyful creation and a great reason to celebrate the collaboration between China and Singapore. Something like an anniversary gift but in the form of a panda’s name.

Xīn Yáng

Trying to show dominance that the panda was born in Singapore, the rest of the options have the word “Xin” to represent Singapore. This time, “Xin” can also mean new.

Whereas, “Yang” represents the sun. Since the panda was birth on the morning of 14 Aug, combining “Xin” and “Yang” means Singapore Sun or new sun. This also symbolises the joy and brightness this birth brings.

Xīn Yuán

The last option that also has the iconic “Xin” in it to represent Singapore. Instead of repeating the birth being a joyous occasion, this option focused more on the parents, Jia Jia and Kai Kai instead.

“Yuan” means affinity or fate in Mandarin speak for the fate that brought Jia Jia and Kai Kai together in Singapore.

“Yuan” can also mean fulfilment.

Previously Recommended Names

One of the previously recommended popular names was Xin Xin. Xin Xin represents the heart in Mandarin or alludes to Singapore. Some of the netizens also spelt it as Xing Xing or Sing Sing which also can represent the stars or gorilla in Mandarin.

Xin Xin was not on the list of options because:

  • There’s already a panda in Mexico City called Xin Xin and panda names are supposed to be unique
  • It’s kind of confusing to call a panda a gorilla, isn’t it? It’s just like naming your goldfish, “dog”.

You can cast your votes here.

And yes, IKR: it’s like going through your Chinese lessons in secondary school once again.

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Featured Image: Facebook (Mandai Wildlife Reserve) 

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Tan Shi Hui
Email: [email protected]