Does your name have any particular meaning?
Let me see… Well I think it means “bright pearl” or “shining pearl”? I guess my parents wanted me to become an intelligent and successful girl so they gave me this name.
What’s the origin of your name? (or, your surname)
It’s pretty lame really… Dad wanted to call me “Ngoc” or “Chi” back then but he couldn’t decide which one, then one cousin of mine asked him whether I had a name and he just blurted out “Minh Chau”. My cousin then spread the news about my name to everyone, which was something Dad didn’t expect at all, and well, I am stuck with this name now.
Do you like your name?
At first no, because my friends often made fun of my name, like with some puns. But then I gradually learnt to accept it, and now I can’t imagine having a different name from this one.
What do your friends call you?
My friends back in secondary and high school tended to call me “Cat” or “Fat Cat” because of my nickname on social networks – well I love cats after all. University friends don’t really give me any nicknames; they just call me “Chau”.
Did your family have a (nick) name that they called you when you were a child? Hmm…well, no? They just called me “Chau”. I think in some other families, parents would give their children some kind of nick name but that’s not the case in my family.
What names are popular to give to babies in your country?
I think people tend to choose some names like Linh or Trang for girls – I don’t know the actual meanings of those names though. For boys, the two most popular names, I think, are
Son, which means the mountain and Hieu, which means to show affection and respect towards one’s parents.
