Our Names Engraved
“Hi, can I please get a matcha latte please?”
“Sure, and can I have your name?”
“It’s Thinh.”
“Tim?”
“Ahh...yeah, it’s Tim.”
I can’t count how many times this has happened. I don’t know why, but I still have people call me by the wrong name, just so it’ll be easier. When I was younger, the idea of changing my name crossed my mind; perhaps to a much simpler name for people to remember—maybe a Ken, a Theo, or a Tim. Granted, those are all wonderful names. But they weren’t the ones my parents had given me when I was born.
One’s ethnic name carries with it the weight of all the good intentions pillowing inside from one generation to the next. And our parents/guardians probably did not anticipate the challenges that their child may have if that name wasn’t already commonplace. By contrast, it reflected the heritage and cultural roots they hoped to impart for us.
In grade school, I asked my parents, “What does my name mean?”
“It means ‘nice,’” they responded.
And I never looked into more than that. But throughout the years, it became apparent my name wasn’t so simple to pronounce. (And it also didn’t help that whenever I would typed my name on the computer/phone, it would always autocorrect to “thin” or “thing”, or it would just be underlined in red.)
Growing up, I had to remind people of how to pronounce my name. For instance, there’s an “English” way of saying it, and there’s also a “Vietnamese” way of phonetically pronouncing it. For the English way of saying it, I used a ‘tin can’ or the ‘tin-man’ as examples. For the Vietnamese pronunciation, the name “Thinh” has a bit of a humming sound towards the end—I sometimes would gesture my hands to show the motion of the sound, going under and over like the waves of the ocean. I actually don’t mind explaining the latter to people, even though it’s much more...complicated—I actually deep down really appreciate someone really taking the time to learn more of how to pronounce my Vietnamese name. Sometimes, I would get “thin” and don’t get me started at how many ways of how to pronounce “Nguyen”—to this day, I myself, am not entirely sure how one would pronounce it in English. In retrospect, I’m fine with either way of pronouncing it; what’s essential isn’t the semantics but having the willingness, curiosity, and inclination to just listen can speak volumes.
Recently (literally today), I asked my parents what my whole name actually means: Thinh Phuoc Nguyen. In Vietnamese, one’s name is sometimes called from back to front, so it becomes Nguyen Phuoc Thinh. My middle name, Phuoc, means “blessing”; and, Thinh, means “thriving” or “prosperous.” In concert, my dad describes the name as sort of like a tree, and that tree will continue to get bigger and stronger through instilling virtuous deeds. I carry the stories, traditions, and histories of my heritage through my name. Usually, I won’t even make a big deal out of it, but am incredibly grateful for anyone who has pronounced right or spelled it correctly—so thank you!
Warm regards,
Thinh Nguyen
