English Blog

What's in a name? - Cái tên chứa đựng những gì?

I visited the Vietnam University of Trade a few days ago. I was pleasantly surprised when a student who recognised me from the VTV Ring the Golden Bell show greeted me by saying “hello Mr Khalid Muhmood”. People normally refer to me as Mr Apollo or “the guy who works at Apollo” but rarely use my name which is a difficult name to remember and even more difficult to say. My name Khalid means someone who will live long. I hope that’s true. It would be very easy for me to change my name to John, James or William but I’m proud of my name so have stuck with it. During filming for VTV I met with Kasim the pop star who also has a father with Arabic origins and has also kept his name. I know many Vietnamese who use a foreign name when they meet foreigners, for example Quang will ask me to call him Johnny.
I’m not sure why people do it. Vietnamese names are not that different to pronounce and foreigners living in Vietnam very rarely have a Vietnamese nickname. Is it a good idea for Vietnamese to have a foreign name to use with foreigners and if so then why? Contribute your opinion by leaving a comment below!