I am a name snob

I have lived in the USA for 10 years, and during this time I have seen Chinese friends modify their names from Jie to Jay, or Xiang to Shang for the Caucasian majority they live within. Japanese names are easier but are often shortened from Takahiro to Tak, or from Kazuhiko to Kaz. I have always insisted that people use my full Chinese name (I don’t have a Western name), even if they mangle the pronounciation. In my mind, a bad-sounding version of my real name is better than a perfect pronounciation of a Western moniker.

I love my name, and I love that my parents took great pains to select it for me. I love the aspirations that my parents had for me, all bound lovingly into two characters. Even if my mail comes with my name misspelt, or my new friend trips over the syllabi when they try to call me, I will insist on using the name my parents gave me. Even if it sounds foreign, my American friends think it sounds beautiful. Even if they don’t know what it means, they are envious when I explain it to them.

Lee Wei Ling caused a little bit of a stir when she wrote in a column that choosing unique Westernized names was a reflection of narcissism. While I don’t think she should interfere with other people’s choices of names for themselves or their children, I am secretly in agreement with her. It irks me a little when I look down the class roster of my young cousin. Her classmates run the gamut of Reuben, Aloysius, Atticus and Keisha to Byron, Floyd and Scott. I often wonder, do Singaporeans know the origins of these names? What kind of a person do they imagine when they think of a Reuben? No offense to the reubens out there, but I see a reuben sandwich being eaten by a cherubic white boy. Racist? Probably. But I can’t help what I think.

Along these lines, studies have shown that employers in the US subconsciously reject more resumes from Keishas, Demarcus and the likes. These names are associated with African-Americans names. The moral of the story is, that while we are all free to choose our names and our children’s names, we cannot control what others think about the name. My first impressions of Reuben Tan will be someone hailing from a nouveau-riche family. Florabelles will conjure up images of uneducated parents. I am a name snob, but I’m glad you couldn’t tell that from looking at my name.