In March of 2021, Taiwan restaurant chain Sushiro offered discounted or totally free sushi to people who legally changed their names to include the characters for “salmon.” Over 300 people reportedly took the restaurant up on their offer, and while most managed to switch back to their original names days after taking advantage of the promotion, some have been stuck with hilarious names like “Handsome Salmon,” “Dancing Salmon,” and “Salmon Dream.” Taiwanese legislators are currently debating whether to change a law that only allows citizens to legally change their names a maximum of three times. One student, who changed his name to "Salmon Dream,” discovered that his parents had already changed his name twice when he was a baby, and he had exhausted his third try. Unless the legislators agree to change the law, he’s stuck with “Salmon Dream” for the rest of his life. Some have suggested changing the law to make it more difficult and expensive for people to change their names by increasing fees and waiting times, rather than limiting the number of changes that can be made. Others say that it shouldn’t be done to help adults who make stupid decisions.
