Sarah

On September 4th, I was born with two different names. Sarah came first, which was my Pastor’s suggestion. Although my name is known to have Hebrew origins meaning “princess” to most people, its actual meaning in Persian and Hebrew is “woman of high rank” and have other interpretations like lady and happy (Garone). Then there goes my Korean name Saerynn, which came from my Grandma. When she stopped by a flower shop, the owner’s name strongly stood out to her which she found beautiful.

My full name is Sarah Saerynn Kim. All of my friends think the pronunciation similarity between Sarah and Saerynn was intentional, but it was a complete coincidence. I like my name Sarah because it is common, but I also hate it because it is basic. Throughout 19 years, no one ever mispronounced my name. Though having to answer whether my name has an “h” or not at Starbucks or fitting rooms bothers me, I never have trouble introducing myself to others because of my simple, easy-to-pronounce name that can be found anywhere. Because of this reason, I find my name on souvenirs every time. I carry around my airpods case with me everywhere, which has a Harry Potter keychain that says Sarah in bold letters. Not only that I will never lose my airpods, I like having my name printed on everything as it feels like I’m adding special value to the items. At the same time, turning my head around every time I hear Sarah in public can be really embarrassing sometimes. No matter if someone is looking for Sara or Sarah, my immediate reaction is to flinch and respond. So, having a basic name can be difficult. 

Fun fact about my Korean name is that it was supposed to be spelled Serin, but my dad wanted to make it seem more unique and fancy which led him to write it as Saerynn on my birth certificate. To this day, I do not know the exact meaning behind my name as it is extremely niche. Its current ranking is 238 and only 3,156 people were named Serin between 2008 and 2023 (“Statistics”). This can be a little complicated and annoying at times as people have a hard time getting my name right the first time. Despite its ambiguous origins, I love my name Saerynn as it sounds pretty and feels unique. 

 Often, I feel alienated from my Korean identity because of my English name, but having a separate Korean name fills in this empty spot. Everytime I set a step foot into Korea, I am Saerynn. On the other hand, I switch to Sarah whenever I’m in America. The transition between my Korean and American identities still confuses me sometimes, but I am also grateful for being able to explore and experience different cultures through my names. Regardless of the complications behind my two names, the fact that both of my names contain deep meaning makes me love my name even more. Although my English name Sarah can be too common and my Korean name can be too niche, the combination of these two names that completes my full name Sarah Saerynn Kim makes it so special. 

Works Cited

Garone, Sarah. “Sarah: Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity.” Verywell Family, 12 September 2021, https://www.verywellfamily.com/sarah-name-meaning-origin-popularity-5118188. Accessed 27 October 2023.

“Statistics on Serin.” Name Chart, https://www.namechart.kr/name/%EC%84%B8%EB%A6%B0. Accessed 27 October 2023.