appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

includeLiveContents

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

articlePageLiveArticleBodyContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageArticleSpeechConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Alison de Souza

What’s in a name? For Kamala Harris, one of the few US politicians who has chosen a Chinese name for herself, it could mean an edge with Chinese-speaking voters.
And this is on top of her appeal among Indian-American voters, for whom her Indian heritage could be a plus, according to polling research.
The California senator and Democratic nominee for vice-president – the first Black woman and the first Asian-American on a major presidential ticket – is the daughter of immigrants, her father from Jamaica and her mother from India.
Her given name “Kamala Devi” means “the goddess Kamala” – one of the many names of the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. And “Kamala” itself means “she of the lotus” in Sanskrit.


She is also one of the few US politicians with no Chinese heritage to have an official Chinese name, instead of a mere phonetic transliteration. In traditional characters it is 賀錦麗 – pronounced He Jinli in Mandarin and Ho Gam-lai in Cantonese, the latter having a similar sound to “Kamala”.
To assist voters not proficient in English, the law requires that candidates’ names be translated into Chinese for the ballot in areas with a large number of Chinese speakers. And so 賀錦麗 will appear on the ballot in places such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City.
Much of the Chinese-language media both in the US and elsewhere, however, use a purely phonetic transliteration of her name – Kamala Halisi (卡玛拉 哈里斯).
Harris started a bit of a political trend in San Francisco when she became one of the first candidates not of Chinese heritage to adopt a Chinese name while running for district attorney in San Francisco in the early 2000s.

She did so at the suggestion of her long-time Chinese-American friend Julie D. Soo, who met Harris two decades ago when both were lawyers in the Bay Area and thought a Chinese name would be an advantage.
“Because the ballots in San Francisco were in English, Spanish and Chinese back then. I said, ‘Kamala, you should get a really good Chinese name because the registrar often just dishes out transliterated names for the ballot that are meaningless and just based on phonetics’,” Soo said in an interview with This Week In Asia.
A good name, Soo reasoned, could also help Harris get some Chinese media coverage – and avoid the possibility that a randomly assigned transliterated name might mean something unfortunate in Chinese.
Soo asked her father, the late Chinese-American community leader Stephen H. Soo, to come up with an auspicious name for Harris.

The first character he chose, 賀, means “congratulate” or “successful”; 錦 refers to “brocade” or a work of embroidery; and 麗 means “beautiful” or “magnificent”.
But when Soo told Harris what it meant, she was a little sceptical.
“She went, ‘Hmm, I don’t know if I want ‘beauty’ in the name’. But I told her that 錦 and 麗 in combination means an intricate beauty, not a superficial one, so it’s like she’s a woman of substance.”
A law introduced in San Francisco last year means that candidates are now unable to use a Chinese name that they picked for themselves on the ballot, unless it has been in use for at least two years. Otherwise they must use a straightforward, phonetically-transliterated version of their English name.
As India celebrates Kamala Harris for VP, a question over China and regrets over Trump
Soo said she believes a carefully selected name can be a way for candidates to connect with Chinese speakers.
It certainly seemed to help Harris when she ran for office in San Francisco. Attending events in Chinatown, she scored a few points whenever she introduced herself with a pitch-perfect “Hello everyone, my name is Kamala Harris” in Cantonese.
“Her tones were so good,” Soo said. “And I would be so amazed when the po po (grandmothers) would yell out her name in Cantonese and she would turn around [and acknowledge them].”

Of course, it will take more than just a Chinese or Indian name to win the Asian-American vote – but research suggests the mere presence of Harris on the ticket could boost voter turnout, especially among Indian-Americans.
Analysing California state assembly elections between 2012 and 2018, Sara Sadhwani, an assistant professor of political science at Pomona College in California, found that Asian-American voters were more likely to head to the polls if their district had an Asian-American candidate, even if that candidate had a different background.
This effect was especially pronounced among Indian-Americans when there was an Indian candidate, and it occurred regardless of which party the Asian candidate was from.
As the first Asian-American on a major party ticket for the presidency, Harris will be the first test of this at the national level.
But her 2016 Senate run in California, when she scooped most of the Indian-American vote, would seem to bode well. And in the 2016 presidential election, the Democratic ticket won over about two-thirds of Asian-American voters.
I think she is the quintessential intersection of identities
Sara Sadhwani on Kamala Harris
Because she has long identified as both Black and Asian, Harris could galvanise voters from both groups, said Sadhwani, adding that in districts with a large proportion of African-Americans, Black voter turnout also tends to increase when there are black candidates.
And while there has been some debate over which of the California senator’s identities trumps the other, she can convincingly claim dual heritage.
“Her mother was Indian, she spent summers in India and has talked at length about the influence of the time she spent there. And yet in the American context, the ‘one-drop rule’ – having that drop of black blood – really would make her black as well,” Sadhwani said.
“So I think she is the quintessential intersection of identities: not only is she black, she is also Indian and she is also a woman,” she said. “She is picking up on so many roles, and I think there are a lot of people in America who can see their own stories reflected in her.”


How are votes counted in the US presidential election?

Supreme Court will not hear appeal from Elon Musk’s X platform over warrant in Trump case

How another close election could add to rampant US dysfunction

US prosecutors lay out new evidence in Trump 2020 election case

US presidential election 2020

What’s in a name? For Kamala Harris, maybe an edge with some Asian-American voters

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Harris, right, and Soo at an event in 2004 following Harris’ first win for the office of San Francisco's district attorney. Photo: Julie D. Soo

(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 21, 2020, residents of The Villages, Florida, take part in a golf cart parade to celebrate the nomination of Joe Biden for Democratic presidential candidate and Kamala Harris for vice president. - In this Florida retirement town exclusively for residents aged 55 and over, tensions are on the rise as senior citizens square off over who supports President Donald Trump and who does not. A few years ago, The Villages made national headlines for having one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. These days, the seniors living in the community of 100,000 are more interested in the future of American democracy than in Viagra, and the golf carts are being lined up on both side of the political divide. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

A file photo of Stephen H. Soo, right, Julie’s father and the Chinese-American community leader who came up with Harris’ Chinese name, pictured with present-day governor of California, Gavin Newsom. Photo: Julie D. Soo

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention earlier this month. Photo: AP

As India celebrates Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris, a question over China and regrets over Namaste Trump

US presidential candidate Joe Biden with his running mate Kamala Harris. Photo: EPA

epa07753178 Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (C) takes part in the 9th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, 02 August 2019. Thailand is hosting the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Related Meetings from 29 July to 03 August 2019. EPA-EFE/NARONG SANGNAK

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump walk the perimeter of the arena floor to greet attendants after Modi's speech during the "Howdi Modi" event Sunday, September 22, 2019, at NRG Stadium in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

(200804) -- SRINAGAR, Aug. 4, 2020 (Xinhua) -- An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard at a closed market place during a curfew in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, Aug. 4, 2020. Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir Tuesday imposed curfew ahead of the first anniversary of India's revocation of the region's special status, officials said. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Kamala Harris holds her first organizing event in Los Angeles as she campaigns in the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination race in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 19, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

India’s Independence Day highlights rift between ‘Howdy Modi’ supporters and critics in US

About 50,000 Indian-Americans attended a ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston last September. But not all of the Indian diaspora in the country supports his government. Photo: Bloomberg

The Empire State Building in New York City is lit up in the colours of the Indian flag in 2019. Source: Source: Federation of Indian Associations (FIA)

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a "Howdy, Modi" rally at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, U.S. September 22, 2019. REUTERS/Daniel Kramer

epa08602624 A girl holds an Indian national flag during celebrations ahead of India's Independence Day in Bhopal, India, 14 August 2020. India marks 73 years of independence from British rule on 15 August 2020 EPA-EFE/SANJEEV GUPTA

Kamala Harris: a progressive choice for vice-presidential candidate in an America still struggling with the language on race

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event on August 12. Photo: Reuters

epa05996544 Spanish director Pedro Almodovar (L) and chinese actress Fan Bingbing arrive for the Closing Awards Ceremony of the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 28 May 2017. The Golden Palm winning movie will be screened after the closing ceremony. EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO

What Kamala Harris believes: key issues, policy positions and votes for Biden’s VP pick

US Senator Kamala Harris holds a campaign event in Los Angeles in May 2019. Photo: Reuters

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Kamala Harris listen during the fifth 2020 campaign debate at the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 29, 2020, file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks to supporters during a town hall at Discovery Green in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke, File)

FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris hold hands during a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

From rival to running mate: what ‘fearless fighter’ Kamala Harris brings to Joe Biden’s ticket

Joe Biden described Kamala Harris as a ‘fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants’. Photo:

epa08598123 An undated handout photo made available by the Biden Harris Campaign shows former US Vice President and presumptive Democratic candidate for President Joe Biden with California Senator Kamala Harris, released after the campaign announced that Biden has chosen Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate, (issued 11 August 2020). The two are scheduled to appear together at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, on 12 August 2020. EPA-EFE/BIDEN CAMPAIGN / ADAM SCHULTZ HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden holds his notes, including the topics Kamala Harris and Department of Justice reform, as he addresses reporters at a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., July 28, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

This Week in Asia

People

News

World

United States & Canada

Asia

South Asia

The Democratic vice-presidential nominee is one of the few US politicians not of Chinese heritage to have a Chinese name that she chose for herself
By law, candidates names’ must be translated into Chinese in some areas of the US – but often based on phonetics rather than meaning


The Democratic nominee for vice-president is one of the few US politicians not of Chinese heritage to have a Chinese name that she chose for herself.
