What is in a name?

In communication, name resembles an identity, to differentiate one another, to give oneself a sort of recognition in this world. Names have their own strengths, weaknesses and meanings lie behind it. You can see the meanings of the names everywhere; especially in bookstores or gift shops which sell key chain engraved with names and the meaning of the names. There are some questions that popped up in my mind though; how on earth do they know the meaning of the names? A couple of books on the market actually list out the baby names and their origins. Take for example, one of the common popular name listed: John. Originated from Hebrew, it carries the meaning "God is Gracious"and was the name of the longest-lived of the 12 apostle, who was especially loved by Christ. However, if you just look at the key chains, you can even find the typical attitude that most 'Johns' have. For instance, they are smart, outgoing and nice people, only with more specific details. People who wrote this attitude of 'John' may had made his conclusion by analyzing the attitudes of actors John Gielgud, John Barrymore, John Wayne, John Cusack, John Leguizamo, Johnny Depp; US Presidents John F. Kennedy, John Tyler, John Adams, John Quincy Adams; poet John Donne; Beatle John Lennon; composer Johannes Bach; football player John Elway; lawyer Johnnie Cochrane and interviewed other 'Johns' and its 85 variant forms. And suprising enough, most people with the name 'John' possess the same kind of characteristics.

In addition, because most people have this kind of perception, they tend to assume people with same name have same kind of attitude (similar face also plays a role), right? For example, if a girl is dumped by her boyfriend with the name X; next time when she meets anyone with the name 'X', she will be sceptical about the person!

Furthermore, you will find that some people have trouble to remember one's names. Unless you are familiar with their origins, (like chinese names) you will tend to forget their names. Some are not. But most of people (including me) are. To make life easier, when one find out people have trouble pronouncing their name, they tend to shorten it; "Hi, my name is xyzcbvgdserie......just call me X." Right?

Anyway, there is one complicated name: Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam or Aliaune Thiam in short. Guess who is he?

Answer

Liew Hui Qing, Jaime