What’s In A Name

The Johnston's at Ignatius Chew's museum 

Ignatius Chew’s museum seems to be a ‘place-of-interest’ for relatives who return from abroad. The latest visitor was Yeoh Choo San a daughter of the late Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik.

She and her husband Richard William Johnston and family comprising son William and 2 daughters Victoria and Alexandria were down for the holidays and had come by the museum for a visit.  

The Johnston's: William Pang Han Johnston, Yeoh Choo San, Richard William Johnston, Alexandra Chooi Gaik Johnston and Victoria Chooi May Johnston

Choo San at the Yeoh display section in the museum

Ignatius gave them the grand tour of the museum and elaborated at the section reserved for patriarch Yeoh Khuan Joo.

All relatives who visit are required to sign in to the visitor’s book. This family revealed an interesting fact. Their children had signed in indicating their western name together with their Chinese name. 

Alexandra and William sign into the Museum visitors book

Choo San said the name was given by her father Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik. Robert added he had no objection as they were part Chinese.

I subsequently inquired with another sister in the family Christine Yeoh also married to a foreigner. She confirmed that she too followed their father’s instruction.

“The boys use the genealogical name of Pang and the girls Chooi. It followed the Zhao Mu as tabulated by grandfather Yeoh Khuan Joo to indicate which generation they belonged to” said Christine.

It was reported that when Yeoh Khuan Joo first came to Malaya from China his forefathers did not provide a list of characters known as Zhao Mu to be used by future generations whereby he subsequently he formulated his own Zhou Mu.

JAG