What's in a name?

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My English classes are usually a mix of different nationalities and I always learn a few things about their names. Thais have loooooooooong last names like Wontiphontiphontiporn or Chevapravatdumrong or Louangsaysonkham and it’s always a challenge reading their names correctly. And the Vietnamese, why do they always have Nguyens in their name? I’ve met some Vietnamese and they were all Nguyens but they were not related to each other at all. The Indonesians seem to have adopted English first names like William and Michelle. Or maybe only for the new generation? Taiwanese, Chinese and Hong Kongese students in my school are required to have English nicknames which is very helpful since it’s always a nightmare being laughed at for mispronunciation. Say for example Chi Haotian is Ch-err How Tee-ehn and Xiaojin Zhu is Shiaojin Drew. Go figure! Having one or two Tanakas or Suzukis in a classroom isn’t a rare occurrence here. People have the same surnames and they’re not even relatives. One time I had three Ishidas in my class. I had to call them Ishida A, B and C or I would’ve been confused myself. I had no idea whether they’d find it offensive or something. So imagine my relief when they just laughed and even kept their ‘nicknames’ until the term ended. Lol Trivia: In Japanese, family name comes first followed by the given name. So for a Ms. Akiko Honda (in English), she’ll be called Honda Akiko.