Get the NAME right or ...

Once my family and I were invited to a birthday celebration in our neighbourhood. As the celebration was about to start, many guests were already seated and suddenly, a woman in her sixties was wallking in with her husband and the host just greeted her rather loudly, "Hey, Lau Char Bor!"

Oh mine! I was totally stunned at the way the woman was greeted because it was very rude and most disrespectful to call an elderly woman "Old Woman" even if she was truly elderly. By the way, "Lau Char Bor" means old woman in Hokkien or Teochew dialect. Being curious, I asked the host why he called her such name and he said, "This is her name, or you may like to ask her." He then asked the woman to show me her identity card to satisfy my curosity. It was true that her name was printed "Lau Char Bor". I was in great disbelief!

Then, I was told the story behind the name. When she was born and the father went to register her birth, the registration officer asked "what is the surname?", the father replied, "Lau". When asked about the given name, the father mistook it for sex of the child, and so he replied, "Char Bor" which means "girl or female" . So, the name was written as "Lau Char Bor" which literally means "Old Woman". Well, it is funny, but at least she would be one one day.

I shudder to think about the consequences if her surname were "Seow" and with a similar mistake, the girl would have been named "Seow Char Bor" which means "Crazy Woman". I think she would feel deeply embarrassed each time her name is called out especially in school or at public places and you can be sure all eyes would be staring at her upon hearing her name or some might even make fun of her especially in school.

So, for parents who need to register their child's birth, be extra careful with the name to be printed in the Birth Certificate for the sake of your child who is going to live with the given name throughout his or her lifetime. Make no mistake about it.