Names - part 1

Have you ever wonder how you parents give you your name ? I was born Chong Bee In, all the 5 sisters before me are Saw Lee, Saw Loo, Saw Phek, Saw Yang and Saw In and why when it was my turn, I became Bee In and not Saw In .

According to my grandma, my father felt that he had too many girls and he wanted to break the Saw chain. My uncle better still, all his daughters are Chong Saw.... but by the time he had 4 daughters, he had had enough, so he called the cousin who is the same age as me "Ah Oun" and that means finished but unfortunately Chong Bee Yeong came along after that.

I am sure none of my children know why my name is not Chong Bee In any more. I became Chong Bee Yim or Chong Bee Ean after my 5th sister Chong Saw In died at the age of 9 and they are worried if our name was similar, the god that is in charge of hell may get confused and take me along, too. Hence my name is Bee Yim now.

One night many years ago (maybe 20 years), my 2nd sister in-law called and wanted to speak to Bee Ean and Fay told her there was no such person in the house. How this name Grace came about is another long story. You see, when I was in Secondary two, I knew nothing about Christianity and let alone Christian names and sad to say that I did not even speak a word of English! But no fear, this cool classmate of mine, from Alor Star where all of us were from the villages around it, one day gave me the name Grace. I always wondered if she knew the meaning because honestly, I didn't. But now I know I am graceful Grace....:-)