Names That Go With Careers

Names that go with careers

Back in the 1970s when I was in Buffalo, New York, I came across two OB/GYN doctors (the doctors who deliver the babies, and take care of the women’s health). They had their names that go with their careers. They were Dr. Labor and Dr. Onher.

I used to have a neighbor, Mr. Fish, who worked in the Fish and Game Department, State of California.

The other day, I was so glad to have a chance to get together with one of my high school classmates, whom I haven’t seen for almost half a century. After I learned that he has his second career as a 中文學校校長 for the past 20 years, I told him that his name 昭育 did go with his current job, "昭"天下學子而教"育"之.

I have another classmate from the same class who used to be a management supervisor ((Director, Engineering) of a cable TV company. His name, 梁遠通, its self also tells you what he was doing before he retired. 按, "梁", 樑也, 柱也, cables 賴以撐之, 則訊息"遠通"矣.

There are also names that don’t go with their careers. Many years ago in our hospital, there was a pharmacist by the name "Nurse". Dr. Nurse often called my nurses to pick up the medications from the pharmacy.

One of my NTUMC classmates, who is an anesthesiologist, once mentioned that he came across an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor by the name "Goodnight". He told Dr. Goodnight that he could have been a popular anesthesiologist. Patients, who are about to have general anesthesia before the surgery, would say to him, "Doctor good night".

Some people have great meaningful last names, but those names do not necessarily make them what they are supposed to be. In 1972, when I started my medical training in the US, I happened to see a patient by the name "Goodheart" who was in the Coronary Care Unit because of heart attack.


Yeh Tze