When I first decided to open my own practice one of the first tasks was to come up with a name for the clinic. I brainstormed with my wife and brother to come up with a good and meaningful name. The result of this surprisingly short process was Plum FamiLee Acupuncture. Many have asked me about the Plum FamiLee name so I decided to address this question for those inquiring minds.

The “FamiLee” part of the name is obviously a fun play on words using my last name Lee. It is a moniker that we have been using in our household for the past couple of years. We use it as the network name for our WiFi at home. It is also the name of our band when we play Rock Band.

Fun fact: The Chinese character for Lee, which is included in the company logo, is also the character for the plum fruit. In old Korean, plum was pronounced “oh yat.” Today, it is called “ja du.”

Why did I focus so much on my family name?

In raising my two brothers and me in the tiny pacific island of Guam, a U.S. territory, my parents were very open-minded. They understood and accepted that we would assimilate with the culture in which we grew. Because my brothers and I had an American childhood my father made it a point to teach us about our family history. Even though he was accepting of our “non-Korean” ways I think he wanted us to never forget our roots.

So in naming the practice I wanted to pay homage to my, ahem, famiLee (I couldn’t resist). I especially wanted to pay homage to my father. No matter how far removed from the motherland we may be, I wanted to let him know that I am proud of my roots.

Plum FamiLee Acupuncture.