I was watching “Meet The Fockers”the other day, and Ben Stiller had the misfortune of being named, “Gaylord Focker” , while his wife’s middle name is “Martha”. It makes a basis for a good comedy. But what if you were bestowed an uncomfortable name from birth ? Don’t parents have a moral duty to name their children in order not to embarrass them in the future ? It may not be such a difficult thing after all, for example if you have “Head” as a surname , it makes sense not to name your kid “Dick” , does it not ?
Or, if the surname is “Kok” , god forbid if it should be “Harry” – or the Korean surname of “Park” should definitely not go with Jurassic as a first name. You get the gist. I also happen to know a person from school with the name of “4 something..” (See Thiam Kooi) and I heard once a paging for someone called “Ram into Tree” (Long Chiu Chang) and my school bus driver’s name was “False Teeth” (Keh Chu Gi). This naming in order to embarass , seems to be rather popular!
There was a time when parents gave birth to many children , and I guess ran out of names for them. It was quite common at the time of my grandparents to call them by “pet” names, and by pet I mean real references to animals like “Pig” and “Dog”. I guess when the parents shout out to them , it must have been quite confusing as many pairs of eyes turn to the caller, belonging to both the 2-legged and 4-legged variety.
Names are identities for individuals and hence should be given more thought. Likewise with nicknames, they stick like glue and cannot be rid of anymore. I swear with some individuals unfortunately I have no idea what their real name is. They are only referred to as “Baby” for the longest endless time or “Boy” – and the thing is , I realize we also use those nicknames in deference to the individual. An example is my grand uncle, a wonderful, wonderful man who was referred to as “English Dog” (Ang Moh Kau) , and the nephews and nieces addressed him as “Uncle English Dog” and then my generation in turn as “Grand-Uncle English Dog”. The realization that this cannot be his real name was when I realized his surname was Khoo and never has been Ang.
As for me , I am fine with my given name, Adele. I have to say though when I introduce myself for the first time , it was always “What ? Ideal ?” or “Ada”? or people just pronounce something that made them feel like they are saying it right. It kinda worked though , because after sometime I started to acknowledge they were talking to me, even if it doesn’t sound like my name or even close to what my name should sound like. And then miraculously , after the singer Adele became famous, I have no such problems anymore – even the local police at the police station could say it correctly and spell it right too. (Darn those parking fines!) Some people even ask me if I was named after her (the singer..). This invoked a kind of mixed reaction in me, wondering if they REALLY think I am younger than the singer or was it to imply I stole her name for my own ? Damn! the people with the ability to back-hand compliment.
-The End-
