Readers give me suggestions for articles every week. Recently, Alice Tucker, a friend in my Honolulu Rotary Club, suggested I write a column on unusual first names.
She rattled off several: Worldster Lee, Wadsworth Yee, Chauncey Ching, Tennyson Lum, Percival Chee and Pershing Low. I wondered: Why do so many local Chinese give their children distinctive first names?
A little research revealed that this is a global phenomenon. Parents in China compete to come up with unique names for their children. They want their child to stand out early from their peers.
Dr. John Corboy, who founded the Hawaiian Eye Center, told me he went to Punahou with former state Sen. Anson Chong, Dr. Lowell Young and Winston Wong.
"I was told that children — or at least boys — born to Chinese families in Hawaii during World War II were often given Anglo first names, possibly to emphasize their U.S. citizenship at a time of anti-Asian hostility.
"Most of the names chosen are of British origin, and many are authors. Maybe the choices were simply to sound elegant or high-class."
Hawaii has had its share of people with unusual first names. For instance, A.L. Kilgo owned a garden and hardware store on Sand Island for 60 years. A.L. was short for Aubra Laura.
Former U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga was given the first name Masayuki. After World War II he legally adopted Spark as his first name.
His son Matt told me the name came from the comic strip "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith." Creator Billy DeBeck introduced a horse named Spark Plug into the strip in 1922. He usually came in last but the public loved him. Matsunaga was often last, playing dodgeball with friends, and they likened him to the slow but amiable nag.
Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole had a fairly unusual name. His producer, Jon de Mello, said "his grandfather was a pastor, and his parents took the name from the Bible."
Brickwood Galuteria tells me he was named after his father’s Army buddy Brickwood Cummins. He knows of four other Brickwoods in Hawaii.
One of the more interesting names belongs to D.G. "Andy" Anderson. D.G. stands for Dominis Garrida. The original John Owen Dominis was a sea captain whose son married Queen Liliuokalani. They were friends with the Andersons. Andy’s restaurant, John Dominis, honored the long friendship between the families.
Duke Kahanamoku has an interesting derivation of his name. In 1869 Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, visited Hawaii. Princess Bernice Pauahi suggested the baby born in her home downtown that same year be named in honor of the prince.
The name the parents chose was Duke, as the prince was the Duke of Edinburgh. Twenty-one years later Duke had a son he also named Duke, who became an Olympian and father of modern surfing.
Thurston Twigg-Smith was given the surname of his great-great-grandfather, missionary Asa Thurston. His father, William Twigg-Smith, was an artist and musician who moved to Hawaii from his native New Zealand in 1916.
Karsten Thot has a bridge named after him north of Wahiawa. He was born in Germany and worked for Hawaiian Pineapple as a field supervisor. He played a substantial role in community affairs.
Webley Edwards had an unusual first name. Webley was the founder of the "Hawaii Calls" radio show, which began in 1935. He was the first radio announcer to broadcast the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.
Reyn McCollough founded a clothing store on Catalina Island, Calif., in 1949. He moved to Hawaii in 1959 to the recently built Ala Moana Center, focusing on men’s suits and shirts. Partnering with Ruth Spooner, they moved into aloha wear and popularized reverse-print aloha wear.
Several of my friends have unusual names. One, Sumner Howard, says his father and grandfather were given what had once been a family surname.
Norborne Clarke, president of the Downtown Exchange Club, says he was named after the first governor of Virginia, Norborne Berkeley.
Maj. General Valentine Siefermann was also an old friend. He was in charge of Hawaii Civil Defense in the 1970s. Valentinus lived in Rome in the third century.
Norris Sandvold, who owns Hawaii Beach Homes, tells me he was named after an Oklahoma politician. There is a city named Norris in Oklahoma.
Britchard Kepano, who works at the Kam Shopping Center Jamba Juice, says she’s never heard of another with that name. She was named after her grandparents Brigitte and Richard.
My wife’s friend Paulette Sumida’s mother was given with the unusual name of Eulalia Clark. She was adopted by Mary Kawena Pukui’s mother and renamed Faith Charlotte Wiggen. She had a hanai sister named Patience Bacon.
I’m sure there are many more. A friend went to McKinley with brothers Atomman and Worldman Kimm. Another told me they knew of a Hy Hoe Silva on Lanai, and a Sterling Silva. There are four in the phone book. My older readers will remember the Lone Range was famous for saying "Hi-yo, Silver, away." Silver was his horse.
Know someone with an interesting name? Drop me a line. I might do a column on nicknames soon.
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Bob Sigall, author of the “Companies We Keep” books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
