Because I am both Dutch and Japanese, my parents wanted to give me a name which could be easily pronounced in both languages. They came up with the name Yoeri which according to some sources is a Russian variant of George. In English the name George means "farmer" and in Greek it originated from Georgeas "meaning tiller of the soil".
After having found a name for me in the western world, my mother had the terrible task to make the name readable to Japanese. She came up with two Chinese characters:
After that my parents thought of giving me the chance to eventually decide myself what I would like to become Dutch or Japanese. So they went to Japanese Embassy to register me as Japanese too, but soon they found out that Japan does not accept my father's family name and so in Japan I am registered now as Murakami Yuuri after my mother and in Holland as Yoeri Veltink after my father. Can you still follow me? Well, just call me Yoeri. I am fine with that.
