What's in a name?

Hello everyone, it’s me randomly rambling again.  Recently, I was privileged to have been in the audience of a panel discussion about Asian stereotypes.  The panel of renowned Asia American leaders each took turn telling their amazing stories and they urged the mostly Asian audience not to give up on their ethnicity in the workplace.  It was an inspiring segment.  There was a phrase that one of the panelists used that stood out with me.  "Don't check your ethnicity at the door."  I nodded in agreement and then chuckled because my eyes had moved towards the screen displaying the pictures and names of the moderator and the panelists.  Four out of five of them were using “western friendly” names.  

I chuckled because I have heard the advice of adopting a westernized name to fit in from multiple sources.  The idea is that it cuts out the "noise" and helps others to focus on the individual rather than spending time to agonizing over remembering how to properly pronounce the individual's name.  It is not a bad advice, except that in this context, giving up your name is absolutely the gate way drug to checking your ethnicity at the door.

My first thought after I chuckled was that I use my western name on a regular basis.  Actually, because my western name is difficult to pronounce, I just introduce myself using my initials.  I nearly never give out my Chinese name.  So am I a hypocrite for thinking that when someone adapts a western name, then they are checking their ethnicity at the door?  One difference is that I was given my western name when I was born because my parents were progressive and because I lived in Hong Kong when it was still a British colony.  Like most Asians who grew up or were born in a western culture, my western name had become part of my identity.  Only very close relatives ever knew or used our Asian names.  

When all is said and done, I do not have a good enough excuse for never using my Asian name.  I do check that part of my ethnicity at the door every day.  I grew up never telling my non-Asian friends my Chinese name because I wanted to avoid being teased.  I should also note that I have been told by Chinese friends that my Chinese name sounded like a name meant for a girl rather than a boy.  Well, I did not tell too many Asian people my Chinese name after that either.

I was once told a joke that Chinese dads came up with names for their babies by throwing beer cans down the street and listening for the sounds the cans made as they hit the ground.  Well, I am a Chinese dad.  I can tell you that it took months of deliberation, unsolicited recommendations, and usually some form of epiphany to come up with both the Chinese and English names of our children.  In fact, I will argue that the names parents come up with for their children probably represents something very important to them.  In some cultures that would mean naming your children after a loved one.  In other cultures, it may be that the meaning of the name represents your hope for your children.  Some names represent a proud lineage of the family.  Now imagine those children someday becoming ashamed of their name, or choosing to give up using their given name just to fit in.

So, what is the right answer here?  Are people indeed checking their ethnicity at the door when they adopt a name that is more fitting of the local culture?  Is it something simple or meaningless to give up?  Does it indeed become the first of many acts of Asian sub-servitude towards westerners that leads to repeated behaviors of falling in line and blending in?  Is a group of westernized minorities with easy to pronounce names what corporations and customers mean when they demand diversity?

I will offer this last thought on the topic.  When I was choosing a foreign language to learn, I was told I should take Spanish because it was the second most spoken language in the US.  I spent three years studying Spanish on that advice.  Asians make up more than half of the world's total population.  Would it be that much to ask someone to spend three minutes learning how to say your name?  What would the world feel like if westerners came up to Asians and introduced themselves in adopted Asian names?

Stay Cheesy

The Rambunctious Rat