What's in a name?

The title of this blog is from Shakespeare. Do you know what play it's from? Does anyone know the rest of the dialog that usually goes with this line? 

Many of my friends in China want me to give them English names. Some already have some kind of name that is English based but isn't really a name. One of my friends has chosen 'onion' as her name. She told me that her foreign teacher  asked her to pick anything to use as a name and that this would be fine. In truth, I think the English teacher was laughing at his students and didn't really care what word they chose as a name, as long as it was easy for him to remember.

Although most of my friends are Chinese, I mean the friends that I help with English, it's only in China that I find this curious phenomenon.  Everyone else I speak to never even considers an 'English' name. I've begun to wonder if this name thing is based in a teacher's ignorance and disrespect more than in the student's desire for a new name. 

Although I don't know all of my friend's real names, the ones that I do know sound wonderful and are quite easy to pronounce. For this reason I am mystified as to why someone would want an English name that makes them sound like a vegetable over their Chinese name which makes them sound interesting and wonderfully mysterious!

You know, some foreign teachers are both ignorant and lazy. They don't want to take the time to get to know your real name and feel that by giving you an English name, it will make it easy for them to remember you. Alternatively, they may give you a silly English name for their own amusement. Perhaps they really don't want to be where they are so they play a little game with their students by giving them ridiculous names. 

What do you think? If I ever get the chance to teach in another country, it would be my honour to get to know everyone's real names.

Thanks for reading!