Ran into a quandry while subbing a story out of Hong Kong. Does Jacphanie Cheung take a Mr or a Ms on second mention? Obviously, no one had the definitive answer to that, so I went with Ms, reasoning that Jacphanie is to Jack what Stephanie is to Stephan.
But everyone sure had a lot of opinions on Hong Konger names. In the brief period I worked in Hong Kong, I had a collection of name cards with unusual names. I don't know where it is now and I can't remember most of the names -- which sounded really made up -- but one sticks in my memory: Cinderella. I'm not making this up. You can't make up a real life person with a name like Cinderella. I've always wondered if she found her Prince Charming. Or if she ever met Snow White. I wouldn't put it past there being a Hong Konger with that name.
Back in uni, there was a student called Hedges. You come across a name like that, of course you gotta ask how he got it. He said his Dad got it off a cigarette packet. And that there were two names on it but Dad thought Benson was too ordinary so he picked Hedges. Hedges wisely used his surname instead of his first name all his uni life but it didn't stop me from calling him Trees, Shrubs, Bushes etc for three years.
And then there was Margarita. A perfectly normal Hispanic name but you wonder why a Cantonese girl from solid southern Chinese stock born in Hong Kong whose family speaks no Spanish is Margarita and not Margaret. She said her father was drinking margaritas the night she was born. Thank god he wasn't drinking Stolichnaya.
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Heh! Do you remember Winster? Not Winston or Minster, but Winster. His story of how he came by his name was that he was on his way to an interview and was told that having an English name would be more memorable, he happened to be passing by a fruit stand or something like that and there was a crate of apples on it with "Winster" stencilled on it.
And then there was Horatio. I always think of Horatios as mini-heroes, in the mould of Nelson. The Horatio from Hong Kong was the typical weedy Chinese nerd.
I think that's the problem with the names they choose - either they're portmanteau and bear no resemblance to a recognisable name, or they just don't go with the physical persona. It's a bit like a Chinese person dyeing their hair blonde - just doesn't fit.
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