This is my son ... what's your name again?

Shanghainese parents, desperate as ever to push and pressure their children lovingly coax their children to achieve more academically so that their retirement will be a prompt one their children can reach their dreams, have come up with a new idea -- changing their kid's names.

A naming agency located on Fuxing Road M. said it has found names for nearly 1,000 students since setting up shop in 1998. The store said its professionals analyze the defects of a person's original name, and suggest a new one based on the person's birthday and other fortune-telling skills. Buying a new name costs between 800 yuan (US$99) and 10,000 yuan.

"Several thousand yuan that could have been spent on private tutors", I hear you say? Pish!

We must thank this girl for making us smile:

"I always had no idea who my classmates were calling when they used my new name," Hu said, adding that she wishes she had kept her old name.

If you are etymologicaly inclined and wish to find your own Chinese name then you might want to look at these.

The best Chinese name we have ever heard was a man delightfully named 王可魏 -- Wang Ke Wei. Giggle.

Related:
Professor Xiong Binqi explains some problems with universities in China today (Shanghai Daily)