Ciro Santilli @cirosantilli 37

Many East Asians, notably Chinese immigrants, choose to adopt a Western name pseudonym to make it easier for Western people who don't speak the language to call them and remember their name.

Cowards! Ciro Santilli would much rather just torture foreigners into learning his language. But fair play.

More interestingly however, some of the names chosen are not typical names, and some end up being very cute or mildly funny. Perhaps it is partly linked to given names are getting weirder.

Bibliography:

mathoverflow.net/questions/20112/interesting-results-in-algebraic-geometry-accessible-to-3rd-year-undergraduates Interesting results in algebraic geometry accessible to 3rd year undergraduates