This Malaysian Man's Name Is - Wait For It - Helpmelah
Despite his unique given name, Helpmelah's friends and family call him by another interesting moniker.
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 02 Apr 2018, 05:53 PM
Meet Md Helpmelah Bin Jaafar, a Port Dickson resident with a one-in-a-million name
When Helpmelah was born, his Sarawakian father decided to give him the name for reasons even the 43-year-old could not explain, Sinar Harian reported.
"I do not know why but he told me it was done intentionally," he said.
Helpmelah was aware that others found his name humorous ever since he was a child. In school, he was always the teachers' first choice when they needed a helping hand around the classroom.
Whether it was wiping the blackboard or carrying books, he said, "It's funny, that's what I remember until now."
Despite the uniqueness of his given name, Helpmelah's friends and family call him by another interesting moniker
"People here know me as Boy Pasar because I live behind the Teluk Kemang market," he explained.
"Now if you say you're looking for Helpmelah, no one will know
who that is."
As fate would have it, Helpmelah's 33-year-old wife can also relate to the struggles of having a peculiar name, thanks to a mistake that her parents never rectified
Norolhudainseroh, nicknamed Noni, spent much of her life hearing her name mispronounced and seeing it misspelt, but she explained that this was not her parents' intention.
Her name was supposed to be spelt Nurul Huda Insyirah. However, "The registration officer who prepared my documents was Indian and when my father said the name, he just wrote it like he heard it," she said.
"My mother only realised the mistake when they got home and there was nothing they could do, so they decided to leave it."
In the early stages of their relationship, Norolhudainseroh only knew her now-husband by his nickname. She happened upon his real name by chance.
"When I first got to know him, I knew him as Boy. One day, I saw his IC and found out his unique name. I laughed to myself," she explained.
"People have difficulty pronouncing my name, and I ended up with a soulmate who also has a unique name".The couple decided to opt for ordinary names when it came to their own three children
"I gave my children names that people always hear. Unique names are good too, but it’s better when it’s easier," Helpmelah told Sinar Harian.