When the newest baby panda was born at the National Zoo on August 21, in the middle of a hellish 2020, many Washingtonians viewed it as a miracle. And now it’s official: the panda’s name will be Xiao Qi Ji (SHIAU-chi-ji), a Mandarin Chinese term that translates as “little miracle” in English.
The name was chosen through public voting—just under 135,000 people weighed in, choosing from a list of four names released by the zoo. Since Xiao Qi Ji was born three months ago, more than 1.5 million people have watched him on the Giant Panda cam.