Official Cantonese translations of English names for British officials

[5][4] This practice has its origin in the distasteful translation of the name of the 16th Colonial Governor of Hong Kong,[6] and the UK government keeps this tradition alive.

Before getting a new translation, the name of the very first Hong Kong colonial governor, Henry Pottinger, was originally translated as 煲顛茶 or Bōu Dīn Chàh in Cantonese[7] which phonetically rhymes with his family name Pottinger fairly well but literally means “to brew crazy tea” or implies “a nutter brews tea”.

[10] Also, Cantonese speakers sometimes call a toilet bowl 屎塔 (sí taap), being homophones to the first two characters of his newly translated name.

And at the same time, Stubbs believed having an authentically translated name would create an approachable image and help the colonial government build a closer relationship with ethnically Chinese Hong Kongers and indigenous villagers.

[2][4] It is now the responsibility of the Hong Kong British Consulate-General, and they usually supply the press with a list of translated names when there is a new cabinet.

[16] This practice of providing comprehensive official name translation services has never been extended to Mandarin or to other UK diplomatic missions out of Hong Kong in the Greater China region.

[17] Also, these name translations are not used by Chinese state-owned media in Hong Kong, e.g. Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po.

For instance, Hong Kong media observe the Cantonese name translated by the Consulate-General and call former Prime Minister Theresa May 文翠珊 or Màhn Cheui Sāan, meaning “refined” for 文, “jade” for 翠, and “coral” for 珊.

[17] However, the Chinese Xinhua News Agency, being the official standard setter of name translation in China and known to have declined to accept the US government's suggested name translation for former President Obama,[18] calls Theresa May 特雷莎．梅 or Tè Léi Shā Méi, literally meaning “special” for 特, “thunder” for 雷, “sedge” for 莎, and “a Chinese plum” for 梅.

It is, thus, not unusual to hear stories about adults in Hong Kong in their 30s or 40s changing their names after consulting with feng-shui and suan-ming practitioners in the hope of improving various aspects of their lives.

[19] Against this cultural backdrop, the Cantonese-translated names prepared by the Consulate-General are generally very well received and often praised by the Hong Kong public.

When he entered 10 Downing Street for the first time as prime minister in 2010, the Consulate-General offered him 甘民樂 or Gām Màhn Lohk as his Cantonese name,[2] meaning "willingly" for 甘, "people" for 民, and "joy" for 樂.