Monday, November 13, 2006

What's in a name?

With my future niece or nephew now in its six month of gestation, the subject of names has come up quite frequently among the family. At the last family dinner, we began spielling off names until we were worn down to staring about the room, saying things like "...Coat Rack Kwong....Dinner Plate Kwong....Steak Knife Kwong...."

...And then later, at home while washing dishes: "....Frying Pan Kwong....Fork Kwong....Wooden Spoon Kwong....Grill-O-Matic Kwong...."

While I will still insist on calling the child Koh the Face Stealer regardless of its gender, the parents have decided they need something a little more orthodox so that teachers don't have a hard time during attendance-taking in the morning.

Among the names suggested by my younger sister's acquaintances:

Girl: Aphrodite, Elizabeth, Kiwi, Kayla, Katelin/Katelyn

Boy: Orion/Rion (or backwards Noir), Stanley, King, Donkey, Cane/Caine/Kain/whatever spelling, Clark, Kael

Both: Casey

I might draw your attention to the sibling favourite of the moment: Kiwi. Cute as it is, the name evokes Mommy Kwong's (aka the Incubator's) penchant for biting into things; or of thoughts of an ugly, flightless bird.

To this, I responded that, should we go with naming "the Parasite" [(Copyright) Carly Foster] after fruit, we chould consider the following:

Durian Kwong: Sure, he stinks to high heaven, but he'll grow on you. Durian, King of the Fruits, is an acquired taste and beloved by people of Southeast Asia...like us!

Kumquat Kwong: Adorable little cirtus fruits that grow well at home and are great as preserves. Plus, there's some awesome alliteration going on there.

Rambutan Kwong: Queen of the Fruits! How many boys can claim THAT title?

Mango Kwong: Because to want Mango is not to have Mango.

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