Names and Knock-offs

Names in Chinese are great; each name means several different things, and names are given in order to help one exemplify the traits or things they are named after. Perhaps it is like in the Bible when God/Jesus would re-name a person. The funny part comes in when the Chinese create names in English with the same intent in mind. A word in English may sound pretty to them, have special meaning to them, and so they name themselves after that thing in English. Here are some examples:

Apple
Being (as in "human being)
June
Jim (a girl)
Jackie (a boy)
Good
Freedom Panda (she likes freedom and pandas, so that is her name)
Bleach
Nice


My name is Fang Hui Ming. Fang is a common family name; I guess Polish names are too hard to translate! Hui means caring, wise, helpful, graceful, etc. Ming means a motherly person that would take care of her house, children, and husband.

It shouldn't surprise you that we also see many knock-offs of original name brands and titles. Because many do not know the alphabet--just a bunch of squiggles--they frequently misspell things or mix up some of our idioms.
BNA--we saw this on our flip-flops with the NBA logo when we went in for a massage
NKIE--Nike
"Impossible is Nothing"
"No Smoding"
"Catch me if you can't"
"For healthy, do not smoking"
I also saw a very girly shirt with a big Mickey Mouse picture. Above the picture, the shirt read "Abercrombie;" a breach of copyrights, I'm sure!