Valley's Song - Google in Chinese

Google adopted a new Chinese name “谷歌”，pronouncing “gu3 ge1” in pinyin. Literally, it means “valley’s song.” It’s very poetic and cheerful. The first thing that came to my mind was “a song from Silicon Valley,” or “a song flying from the valley to the sky.” Whatever it could be meaning, it’s really cool!

Whoever came up this name did a good job. I was very troubled by Google’s old Chinese name “顾够”, which is pronounced “gu4 gou4”. Although it sounds like google, literally it could mean “wandering and enough,” or “taking care but enough.” It really doesn’t mean anything, but whatever it could be meaning, it was really terrible.

Chinese believe names have potential influence on the fortune of business and its people. If you have a name that means “wandering and enough,” you probably don’t know what you are doing. If you have a name that flies and symbolizes triumph, you will probably fly and triumph.

Update: Some people do not like Google's new Chinese name “谷歌”。However, the alternatives they came up are much worse, such as “狗狗”, which is pronounced "gou3 gou3". It means "doggie doggie" in Chinese. Apparently, it's a rediculous joke. No one on earth can see Google use a name like that. 谷歌 is still by far the best name.

China, Google, Silicon Valley, business culture, China business