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What's in a Name

mkochiyama
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Hiram Ohta

Both of my parents are non-English speakers.  I was their first child.  My mother gave birth to me about six months after arriving in Honolulu. 

During the time of my coming to this world, my father was doing business on another island and because of the poor communication, he did not know of my birth. In Hawaii, there is a law requiring to give a name to the newborn and register it in 10 days.  My mother waited for my father’s return and she did not know about the law.  When my father finally came home there was very little time to come up with my name.  My father at one time was a student of the Bible.  So I was told that late at night he opened the Bible and pointed a pencil and came up with Hiram. 

That is my origin of naming.  He also searched for the significance of the name and found that the name was very appropriate.  I am not named after Hiram Fong, the first Hawaiian US Senator, that is another story. 

Based on this original

Story of a Name: Hiram Ohta
uploaded by mkochiyama
Hiram Ohta August 2011 Photo courtesy of Japanese American National Museum More »


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