What's in a name?

1st day of teaching...
ahhh, the first day of teaching! Turns out, both of my IEP (intensive English program) classes during the day are heavily populated by Chinese students, which can be lots of fun and cause for misunderstanding. I understand that it might be a smart thing to choose an "English" name instead of using your Chinese name when considering your teacher (aka me...) speaks absolutely zero/zip/nada Chinese and might end up turning your lovely name accidentally into a cuss word. It might be an even better idea, on the other hand, to do some research and choose your name wisely. I understand that some Chinese names have a specific meaning in their language and that some people would like to keep that name (i.e. translate the meaning literally), but... well...maybe do some research on the meaning and/or pronunciation of the name that might stick with you for the next couple of years! Just look at the Republicans and the "Teabagger" debacle! Try to be on the safe side!

This is a sample conversation I had today:
Me:" so what's your name?"
Student:" Decoy!"
Me:" uhm... decoy?"
Student:" yes!"
Me:" uhm, how do you spell it?"
Student:" D E C O".
Me:"uh... okay. welcome....".

Other great names I've encountered so far include Sky, Top, and Flex (he changed it to Felix right after I explained to him what it means). Fellow teachers reported on Miller (as a first name), McMurdo, Cactus, Candy, and... *drumroll* my favorite: TRANNY!