Answer

For those of you who replied to the Trivia Question, I regret to inform you that none of you were correct in answering the question: What do the following have in common? Dolphin, Dimple, Tacky, Cinderella, Fat Fat and Icy?


Good Guess, Mom, but no these are not types of dumplings. And no, Kitten Rags, they are not names of Cats


Answer: They are all names of people in Hong Kong that I have encountered since living here.

The point of my asking this is not necessarily to shock my American counterparts, but more to observe the culture behind naming in Hong Kong. Names in both cultures are meaningful. This selection of names is a quick highlight the types of names that Chinese choose to be called when they pick a Western name. Most frequently you will encounter Chinese people with more "normal" Western names such as Mandy and Sandy and Claire when in Hong Kong. But once I was at a restaurant where the server's name was "Eat". Cinderella, per the name above, is actually a name that was given to me when I was volunteering with a non-English-speaking charity. I guess they figured everyone would remember it; after all, I think I was the only person with blond hair. I will admit though, that most of the people mentioned above did probably pick these names when they were in middle school English class and had to pick a Western name to be called. I can only imagine what I would pick if I were to choose a Chinese name. I would probably get confused and pick something the equivalent of "popcorn."