In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare says,
"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
English names may smell quite sweet one way or the other, but in our country, you’ve got to tread very carefully when naming your child. What may sound perfectly fine in your dialect or language may take on a different hue or meaning in another dialect or language. Hence, naming a child, especially a Chinese name has been quite a tedious task for most parents.
My Big J came home from his Art class the other day and asked, "Mum, why did my friends call me carrot? My name is Jerard, isn’t it, mum?" I told him, "Yes, dear. Your name is Jerard, your friends are just joking with you. Spell out your name clearly to them and tell him it is pronounced as J-Rard." Children just love to play with sounds, and if they find that they can distort or contort the name to a different sound or meaning, they will just do that. Well, who knows? Jerard might just grow to love his new nickname.
Malaysian names today are more melodious and exotic compare to those days. All the Ah-something, Ah Hua, Ah Tu, Ah Kow, Ali, Ahmad has become extinct. A visit at any Paedatrician’s clinics is a good place to listen to the nurses calling out the names. From Ali, Ahmad, Dollah, Fatimah, now we hear Jaronie, Marianna, Nadia, Natasha, Ramona, Dianna. From Samy, Param, Muthu, now we hear Shania, Arjuna, Premala. And the Chinese name has gotten more exotic oriental-sounding names such as Eu Ann, Tsu Juin, Su Wern, Qi Qian, Jia Xing. And more exotic English names such as Rhiannon, Tia, Adrianna or names of gems stones such as Ruby, Diamond, Topaz.
You would be surprised to hear that there are parents who deliberately give their children unattractive names for superstitious reason. There are even parents who consulted "bomoh" or "medium’ to give their child a name which can bring good life, good health and prosperiority to the child. They then will start to pantang this and that. Poor child!
And there are also names which I find quite a redundant. Personally, I have come across names such as Jenny Wong Jern Nie, Shirley Lee Xue Li, Eugene Ong Yew Zin. Well, as I was saying, do be careful when naming your child. Pronounce the chosen name many times and look out for any hidden possibility of distorting the name to a different sound and meaning in several different languages and dialects.
Recently someone asked me, don’t you have any Christian or English name? It’s easier to call and remember. With any Christian or English name, I may have a dozen people having the same name as mine. Nay.. Yek Nee is my name, and I am proud of it. On second thoughts, probably I should start to consider some nobody-has-it and remember-me-always name. How does Buzz Rose sound, eh? "What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet" Hmmm….just as sweet as me..
