Yep, it get's down right interesting. A lot of the Chinese students I've questioned over the years about their names have told me that they were given the name by a middle school teacher. Often, of course, they were told to choose a name from a list in the back of an outdated English textbook. Thus, many of my students have had names that were more fitting for my grandmother's generation. And then there are those who have gotten quite creative - they think. Well, sometimes they have; however, it doesn't always sound quite so nice to the Western ear as they may have imagined. One girl's father, whose name is Fish - a common surname in China - is called Fishhead by his friends because he's the head of his family. So, the girl took the English name Fishtail because, well, you get the picture.

I'm quite honest with my students about their names. If I think it's ridiculous I tell them. If they agree with my reasoning, they will also agree to take a new name. That can be fun. Personally, I like Irish and Welsh names; thus, a lot of my students have some pretty nice Irish names. Chinese, naturally, always want to know the meaning of the names too, so I finally just started making lists of boy and girl names with meanings.

I think it a pretty good idea actually - I mean having English names. It helps reinforce the all English environment for one thing. We can only hope that they'll be a little less "creative" as they get more sophisticated. I've got one student named Alasker - a misspelling of Alaska, but he stubbornly clings to the name. Other student's have had such ridiculous names that I call them "hey you" until they finally get the picture.

Jelly, Berry, Cherry, Apple - too many of those. Sky, Day, Cloud, Rain - it's like a Woodstock reunion. Piggy, Rabbit, Kitty, Tiger, Puppy - give me a break.