Over 30,000 Chinese babies, born this year, were named after the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, which closes on Sunday, Xinhua reported.
According to the Office for Registration of Chinese citizens, a total of 31,240 babies, including 30,397 boys, have received the name "Shibo," a Chinese world for "Expo." The tendency peaked in September, with over 6,000 "Expo" babies registered.
Strangely enough, the name was most popular in the Central Chinese province of Henan with a total of 10,537 children born in the area named after the global fair. In Shanghai, the 2010 Expo host city, parents of only 82 children followed suit.
Chinese place a great deal of emphasis on names and often opt for unique names to reflect their individuality in a country where 87% of the population share the same 129 family names.
At least one Chinese couple wanted to call their child '1A,' while another wanted to name their child '@,' pronounced in Chinese 'Aita' and meaning 'love him.'
Many Chinese, who have turned 50, are named Wei Xing (satellite), to commemorate the Soviet Union's first satellite launch in October 1957. Other popular names among the country's elderly are Jianguo (building the country), Jianjun (building the army) and Guoqing (National Day), to commemorate the first revolutionary years in China.
At least 14 babies have been named Chang'e, in honor of China's first lunar satellite launched in 2007.
The Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008 have led to an increase in popularity of the name Aoyun (Olympics) with over 100,000 Chinese boys and girls receiving the name.
World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, headlined Better City — Better Life, began on May 1 and concludes on October 31, 2010. The exhibition area covers more than five square km. More than 190 countries are taking part and the overall number of visitors currently nears 73 million people, according to the official website.
RIA Novosti
