A few words from Master Ung Khiem on naming a child
Over many years reading destinies for families, the Master has come to see one thing: a name is not merely for calling. A name goes with a child through a whole life, spoken every day by parents, teachers and friends, and so it carries a current of its own. A name that suits the destiny is one that supplies what the child's chart lacks, which the ancients called the Governing Element 用神, while avoiding the phase that is adverse. When the Qi in the chart is brought back into balance, the child usually grows up more even in temper, in study and in health.
The Master built this tool so that parents can take the first step at home. The machine casts the four pillars of year, month, day and hour for the child by the true solar terms, weighs whether the Day Master 日主 is strong or weak, then points to the Governing Element 用神 and the words that carry that phase. The Master's list of names is ordered by how well each suits the destiny, giving preference to names where the surname generates the middle name and the middle name generates the given name, so that the whole name is one unbroken current of Qi, and pleasant to say.
How to name a child born in 2026, Bính Ngọ 丙午
The year 2026 is Bính Ngọ 丙午, the year of the Horse, and its Nạp Âm 納音 is Thiên Hà Thủy 天河水, the water of the Milky Way: a kindly rain that waters everywhere. Since the destiny of the year belongs to Water, and by the Five Phases 五行 Metal generates Water, the Master usually gives preference to names of the Metal phase, to be the source of that water, and then to names of the Water phase, so that the stream runs fuller. A child of the Horse year is by nature open and fond of freedom, so a bright, generous name suits.
Even so, the Master must say plainly that reading by the destiny of the year is only a general guide for every child of that year. To be exact for your own child, parents should still cast the Four Pillars 八字 from the child's true date and hour of birth in the tool above, for the Governing Element 用神 differs from child to child and cannot be gathered into one basket.
Three principles the Master always keeps when naming
First, the name must suit the destiny, supplying the Governing Element 用神 and avoiding the adverse phase; this is the root. Second, the name must carry a fair and clear meaning, holding the parents' hope within it: for a boy, leaning towards intellect, courage and resolve; for a girl, towards grace, gentleness and dignity. Third, the name must sound well, smooth to say, even in its tones, not sharing an elder's name in the family, and not easily twisted into something unpleasant.
The questions parents most often ask the Master
Can a name be chosen without knowing the child's hour of birth?
Yes. Without the hour, the Master casts three pillars, year, month and day, and can still find the Governing Element 用神 reasonably well. With an exact hour of birth all four pillars are complete and the result is firmer.
The name suits the child's destiny but is said to clash with the parents'. What then?
The Master notes it if a name clashes with the father's or the mother's Nạp Âm 納音. But the first priority remains the child's own destiny; the parents' side is something to weigh so that both are served, not a rule that binds.
Is the machine's result enough to register the birth?
This is a quick, free guide, enough to give parents a direction. For a name a child carries all their life, the Master advises a thorough reading as well, where he scores the Tam Tài Ngũ Cách 三才五格 by stroke count, looks at the Purple Star 紫微斗數 chart too, and helps choose a fine hour to register the birth.
This tool is for reference in matters of culture and belief, to give parents further grounds when choosing a name. The final decision rests with the family.