Princeton Kwong, Class of 2011

Alumni show their devotion to Old Nassau in many ways — donning orange-and-black outfits for Reunions, getting tiger tattoos and donating millions of dollars to their alma mater.

So naming a child "Princeton" might not be all that far-fetched. But, despite campus rumors, that is not how one freshman came to be called Princeton. (Nor is it an "Avenue Q"-inspired nickname.)

Princeton Kwong '11's parents are not University alumni, nor had they even heard of the University when they chose his name back in November 1989. Rather, they named their newborn after an uncle with whom they were particularly close. Kwong assumes that this uncle, in turn, was named after the University, though he does not know for sure.

His name did not affect his parents' expectations of his college choice or his decision to apply to the University, Kwong said, who is from California.

"I wasn't really pressured into going here at all. In fact, I only thought of coming to Princeton after my junior year because my grades seemed okay," he said.

Kwong used his middle name, Jun, on his application to Princeton rather than his first name. He also used his middle name whenever he had to write a name tag during Frosh Week, he said, just to avoid the questions and confusion that would result if he wrote "Princeton" followed by "Princeton '11."

Getting to know people during the first few weeks was a tricky process because people rarely believed him when he told them his first name. "Most of the time they laugh," he said, "I normally have to pull out my ID card as proof."

Kwong's professors have, for the most part, not noticed anything peculiar about his name. "Most of them didn't even care ... it didn't jump out at them."

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David Kim '11 said that being friends with Kwong has been a positive part of his first six weeks on campus.

"Princeton's sort of gotten famous because of his name," Kim said. "I get to meet a lot of new people hanging around with him because people are interested in him."

Kwong has found that his name has often preceded him during his first two months at the University.

"I guess it's spread around campus, but I don't know how extensively. But when I meet people, they're like, 'I've heard of you,' and people facebook me," Kwong said.

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His roommate, Robert Marsland '11, added that "random students have called our dorm phone once or twice wondering if there's really a student named Princeton who lives in our dorm."

Kwong was a highly ranked figure skater in middle school and high school and competed internationally for the United States, but he decided to come to the University because he wanted to focus on academics.

Though Kwong said his name does set him apart from other people, his experiences at Princeton thus far have not been markedly different from that of any other freshman, except for a few things.

"When people meet me," he said, "it's easier for them to remember my name."