What's In A Name?

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

What it means is "what matters is what something is, not what it is called" taken from Shakespeare 1600's Romeo and Juliet. Because of the feuding Montague and Capulet families, their love was troubled. So Juliet said: ""Tis but thy name that is my enemy. Thou art thyself though not a Montague. What's a Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection that he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and that name which is no part of thee. Take all myself."

Locally, in the old days, people may be less educated and they gave their children simple names and as they have many children it may be quite a task so why not name them in association with their farm animals like (in Hokkien) Ah Ter (pig not to be confused with Arthur), Ah Kow (dog), Ah Gu (cow) or name them according to their physical appearance - Tua Bak (large eyes not knowing when this fellow grew up his eyes may one day grow so small leaving people wondering why) or Tua Tow (big head). 


I knew someone was called Ong Ah (maybe he used to cry like a baby). I suspect that even the officers working at ther Registrar were having a hard time collating information communicating with people of very diverse dialect groups. When registering names on birth certificates, your family or surnames became what your grandparents may have said to the officer or from which dialect group the officer came from and they were further confused. 


So you get "Huang", "Ng', "Wong", "Hwang", "Oei", "Ooi" which means yellow (the last one is secret agent James Bond's (007) boss (001). You have Lin, Lim, Lam, Lum which means forest. The originals here could have been further muddled up to produce different sets of spelling. Names usually depicts and identify where you came from, the village, a certain description and even family professions.

If you were Caucasion (ang moh), don't laugh. You fared no better. Davidson is just the son of John David while John Carpenter and John Baker are two different Johns that came from a family of carpenters and bakers. John Baker's son became Richard Baker even if he chose not to be a baker but to sell fish and chips while John Davidson's son became Harry Davidson and not Harry Johnson. That's why you have all the Robinson, Watson, Richardson, Harrison, Johnson, Jackson, Wilson. Sometimes, they would add an "s" or "es" at the end to get Adams, Hughes, Jones, Roberts, etc. So was Smith once a blacksmith or goldsmith?

Western Influence?

Western influence grew and as Christianity spread, more and more Asians adopted Western names or so called Christian names if it were meant to be a new name after baptism. These names usually has meanings such as: Adam which is of Hebrew origin meaning earth. Adrian is of Latin origin meaning from Hadria, a town in Northern Italy which gave the name of the Adriatic Sea. Andrew is Greek for man warrior. Amy is a mixed of French and Latin meaning beloved. Benjamin (Ben/Benson) is of Hebrew origin meaning son of the right hand or most beloved son. 

Clarence is of Latin roots meaning one who lives near the River Clare or bright and illustrious. Helen is Greek meaning shining light. Nicole is Greek for victory of the people. Dennis is Greek/English which means follower of Dionysius, the Greek God of wine. Francis (Frank/Frankie/Francesco/Franco) is Latin meaning free man and its feminine version is Frances. 

Geoffrey is the English version of old German or American Jeffrey meaning God's peace. Jack was derived from John and John simply means God's grace while the female version of Jack is Jackie. James is no Bond and of English origin but was a variant of Jacob which in Hebrew means to supplant. Kevin is of Gaelic/Irish origin meaning handsome beloved. Mark is Latin for dedicated. Patrick is Latin for noble. Ronny/Ronnie is of Old Norse meaning ruler's counsellor. 

Steven is an English variant of Greek origin Stephen which means crown. Terry is old German for power. Jean is pronounced jeen as a girl's name but also used for boys as Jean (John) meaning God's grace, a variant from Jane and John and when translated into latin became Joanna. Other versions are Gina, Jeanelle, Jeanette, Jeanna. Maggie is the English short version of the Greek Margaret which means pearl. Sally is the English version or the Hebrew Sarah which means princess. Wendy is English origin meaning friend. Sometimes, you get a male name and you add an "i" it becomes female like Jesse (male) and Jessie (female).

Asian Renaissance?

I am not sure how it started but my observation is that Hongkongers have very interesting and sometimes queer names. Quite often they adopt family names of Caucasian as their first name such as Freeman. Some named themselves after fruits (Fruit Chan, movie producer), or symbolic animals (Dragon Ng) even landscape (River). Butterfly Hu, Sammo Hung, Bowie Lam, Edison Chen, Noodle Cheng. Even the common folks have names like Hyper, Milk, Jackal, Sicky, Van, Prawn, Empty, Pharoah. I guess Hongkongers gives names more for how they sounded rather then the meaning.

In Taiwan, you have heard from Sky Wu, Harlem Yu. A friend has exchanged business cards with Prick Huang, Flower Chen, Cheesy Chan, Tiger Liu, Stone Li, Baker Chai. From China, you have got Jet Li. I have known one by the name of Eagle Yin. Friends came into contact with Facility Wan, Golden Song, River He, Shopping Zheng.

In Singapore, we have our Beckham Wee, Jack Neo named his children after Hotels - Regent and Ritz and so on. Still on Jack Neo - he showed poor leadership and judgement when he allowed his wife to do a press conference when she has nothing to do with it except being a victim. I do not condone what he had done but Foyce (what a name), Wendy and all others out there must ask themselves if they have other motives. 

If the police is tearing down a prominent speed trap/camera, do you go and appear before the press claiming that you have been reckless and have been caught speeding five times? "Oh, I have to serve as a warning that reckless driving and speeding is dangerous". Who doesn't know that. From young, you have been warned about lechers and "chee ko peks" out there and for the guys, you too have been warned about seductresses. 

Actor Ix Shen used to play soccer wearing number 9 so in roman numeric it became Ix. Might sound like a hiccup here though, Ix..Ix... There is local golfer called Lion so he might someday do better than Tiger (Woods). If some people named their children after hotels, I fear that some golfers might just name theirs after golf courses or golf brands. Titleist, Mizuno, Ping, Cobra, Ashworth, Cleveland, Callaway, Nike, Odyssey, Precept, Srixon. Imagine Cobra "Chua", Ping "Pong", Mizuno Ichibawa (sounds like itchy below in Malay), Ashworth Goh, etc.

Naming Your Child

Look, your son is not going to look like a Greek God just because you named him after one. He's never going to be a genius just because you call him Albert or Einstein, Isaac or Newton. If you sit under a tree here and it's a durian and not an apple tree, then he's a goner. 

Gravity may not be known even if you were Isaac but Newton Circus will still be around. Calling him Edison may not necessary make him resemble Thomas but instead he may become a genius in storing xxx pictures. You do not have to name a child like how we get to organize our National Day where each one has to be bigger, better, grander. 

Simplicity is the key, make sure the meaning is good and how it sounds is important too or that the name will not have connotation with some infamous people. Can you imagine that a family Chong names the daughter Annabel. She will have a life time of hell sort of like a life sentence and you will end up coughing out $200 to change it later?

Avoid cute names like Twinkle or Tweety, etc. which as appropriate as they seem when young, they may grow up to be like CEO material and the name may not fit one in power jacket. I have met and known two guys during NS, one is called Kau Boy (Cowboy) and the other Oh Cheow Loo (Orchard Road, especially when read in mandarin/hokkien). You can't choose your parents, siblings and your genes but you can choose your friends and your children's names. Check through the internet, ask freinds, jot down the possible ones and shortlist them. Go through them and most of all say a prayer.

Most Popular

The most popular names used to be (1) James, (2) John, (3) Robert, (4) Michael, (5) Mary, (6) William, (7) David, (8) Richard, (9) Charles, (10) Joseph, (11) Thomas, (12) Patricia, (13), Christopher, (14) Linda, (15) Barbara, (16) Daniel, (17) Paul, (18) Mark, (19) Elizabeth, (20) Jennifer. In may no longer be the case these days.

Some Names You May Wish To Avoid

Faye Chen - Dust (Mandarin), Monica Chng - Touch your buttocks (Hokkien), Lucy Leow - You are dead (H), Jane Tan - Fried eggs (M), Henry Mah - Hate your mother (M), Ted Poh - Tadpole, Annie How - Anyhow, Corrine Tai - Pitiful (H), Lynn Tan - Zero (M), Rosie Teng - Screws and nails (Cantonese), Danny See - Strangle you to death (H), Paul Chan - Bankrupt (C), Walter Mah - My mum (M), Terry Boh - Terrible. 


Ang moh are not spared: Al Bino, Al Fresco, Anna Prentice, Bea Minor, Dee Major, Ben Down, Bill Board, Bud Weiser, Chip Stone (sculptor?), Dick Face, Dick Tator, Donald Duck, E. Coli, Ferris Wheel, Hazel Nutt, Jack Hammer, Joy Rider, Marshall Law, Phil Wright, Rich Feller, Rose Garden, Tommy Gunn?

All this becomes unimportant and water under the bridge years later when your child becomes successful and a top gun. If you look around, you can find enough important people with big jobs but not necessary impressive names. It is how confident you feel as a person and not allowing a name to define you or say who you can be.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!