Sino-Mauritian Family and Generation Names

Chinese have trouble understanding the names of Sino-Mauritian families which consist of the first name (usually a French name) and the surname (which most of the time consists of three syllables). This anomaly came about when the ancestors first arrived in Mauritius. Their names were altered either in Hong Kong when they registered as passengers or in Mauritius by the immigration officer.

When the ancestor is asked to provide his name, he gave his full name which consisted of his name, the generation name and the given name. No doubt, with the pronunciation, the local officer were unable to write the names properly, thereby altering the spelling. It also resulted in different names being assigned to members of the same family.
Moreover, when newborn were registered, the full name of the father became the surname of the child. Hence it is common to have surnames of Sino-Mauritians bearing three syllables.

To make it simpler, it is now common practice to quote only the first syllable of the name, which in fact is the surname of the person, for example Eric Wong.

Source: We thank Messrs Joseph Tsang Man Kin, Philip Li Ching Hum and Edouard Leung Shing who have allowed us to use extracts of papers they have written.