The Names

I was watching an interview on tv (taiwanese programme) when one of the interviewees introduced herself as "Ring". Then the other day I heard "Fish Leong" sing on MTV, and a few days later someone told me her colleague's name is " Balloon".

See how much effort people make to stand out from others? And these are real names, not nicknames like those Crap1989 on ICQ or emails. But there is a real problem here, either we have run out of names or people just run out of ideas what to call themselves. You cannot use numbers as your name because the World Prisons Association has full copyrights to that idea. And I remember not too long ago people were naming themselves after animals. The early Chinese would conveniently call their young Tan Ah Kow (dog) or Tan Ah Goo (cow) and their western counterpart would have names like Porky or Cattie or Bitch.

But if you have a name that is too common, its quite likely that one of your own friends would have the same name as you, then it's very hard to tell people apart. Like within my circle of friends, I have three Crystals on the list. And when two of these Crystals get together, I have to attach a "big" or "small" to the name, so it's either Big Crys or Small Crys, and after that everyone knows exactly who we are refering to . Who gets the big or small is purely luck and not according to bodily assets.

So with the population exploding and more of your friends recycling the same names, it is not surprising that people these days are using objects as names. I am sure when people started using crystal as their names, there were many who found it strange, especially when your neighbours were naming their own kids after animals. But gradually after a few decades, it became acceptable and pleasant to name your child after glass. And it is a matter of time when "Ring" appears in your list of contacts ..

A few centuries ago, some scientists speculate that our names would get longer and wierder. Wierder yes, but not much longer than before. My prediction would be people would start adding phrases to their names after the trend of animals and objects names subsides. The people in the wrestling industry have already started it and I think it will become trendy to have names like Stone Cold Lee or Rock Baddie Tan. And you will see names that are more catchy, like some slogans or motto. For example, if your surname is Goh, you might consider a name like Way To, so it becomes Way To Goh (you may add an exclaimation mark! at the end for more impact, like those Africans names ) or if your surname is Cheong, then you may consider Tonight Can Cheong ... cool or not?