Someone with a Chinese name taking a Western one as well is no big deal. But these days, some are saying: Why stop at one?

They are happily taking two Western names, never mind that people do a double- take the first time they hear the mouthful.

Take one undergraduate whom LifeStyle met. His name is - wait for it - Shaun Perry Png.

The 24-year-old says he gave himself a Western middle name as well as a first name to shine among the other 'Shauns'.

He says: 'I know about six people named Shaun and I feel it is very common.

'By giving myself a middle name, which happens to be one that I like, people can easily remember who I am.'

The same goes for public relations associate Melissa Tan, who gave herself the middle name Penny.

The 29-year-old says: 'I got sick of knowing another person with the same name and decided to add a middle name so that I can stand out from other Melissas.'

Middle names are common in the West where they are placed between the first given name and the surname. These middle names generally are not for everyday use.

But in Asia, the concept of a middle name is unusual. Those of Chinese descent, for example, have the family name first, followed by given names. In formal situations, if they have a Western given name as well, it goes before the family name.

So having a Western 'middle' name can seem a muddle.

Website designer Zhu Zhengxin, 24, says: 'If a Chinese person has a middle name, I'll think that he is either very Westernised or trying to act like a Westerner. Also, I think it would make their full name way too long.'

Taking a middle name may seem a case of data overload.

But apart from the Shaun Perrys who want to stand out, others cite pragmatic reasons for making the most of the name game.

Deed lawyer Maurice Oon says some people have middle names because it holds a significant meaning for them.

The 46-year- old cites a woman who added the middle name 'Sis' to her original name, as this is what relatives and friends called her, rather than by her first name, Cecilia.

One with an unusual middle name is engineer Gregory Verne Tan, 37.

His Australian Chinese mother gave him the middle name of Verne because her favourite author is French science fiction novelist Jules Verne. In turn, he has named his sons Oliver James Tan, five, and Christian James Tan, nearly two.

Their middle names show they are brothers and make their names unique, he says, adding: 'I have a middle name myself so I wanted to carry on the tradition and give my sons a middle name as well.'

He says: 'I also chose a one-syllable name for my sons' middle name so that it will read smoother and not be a mouthful to pronounce.'

System engineer Tracy Oon also gave her two-month-old daughter a middle name - Amber Lebon Siak. The 36-year-old mother reveals that she chose the name Lebon because it implies 'good' in French, while her husband liked Amber better.

She says: 'We each had our own stand and couldn't come to a compromise so we went with a middle name.'

However, having a middle name can cause a muddle over monickers: It can be too much of a mouthful.

Business development manager Sofie Eugenia Chandra, 25, who has her mother's name as her middle name, says when she was in school, it took a lot of time just to write her name on an exam paper.

The Indonesian Chinese's full name is Sofie Eugenia Chandra Zhong Wen Qi.

In the end, her parents custom-made a name stamp for her.

These days, she is proud of her long name, saying: 'My middle name reminds me of where I came from.'

This article was first published in The Sunday Times.