Hong Kong’s New Pandas Keep Old Names

The two giant pandas, gifted to Hong Kong by the central government, retain their names as An An and Ke Ke.

The government held a naming competition in October to gather name suggestions for the animals. Over 1,000 submissions were in favour of their original names. In a greeting ceremony at Ocean Park, the names for the two giant pandas were announced.

In Chinese pronunciation, “An” and “Ke” have the meaning of peace and stability. Ocean Park said more than 22,000 name suggestions were submitted for the competition, with over 1,000 saying the animals’ names should be kept as they are.