Why the name Monty Tran?

Wikipedia states the following: A pen name, nom de plume, nom de guerre, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author for various reasons....I have two, for now:

1- Unique Name -- how many people by the name Paul Jackson are out there? A lot, if you googled Paul Jackson you would never find my work...I did just find out that Jackson Pollock's first name was Paul, though...Paul Jackson is a great bass player from Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, and I could go on and on. In the competitive world of digital photography, as photographer Seth Resnick says, "Having a website isn't enough for a photographer, the key is making sure that you are found." My editorial photography work credits the name Monty Tran, google it, and here I am.


2- Both Heritages Represented -- As an artist with photography as my medium of choice, my biggest question is: Who am I? From exploring that question for myself, I hope, with my work, to shed light into other lives, maybe inspiring them (as my life's purpose is to inspire and to be inspired) to ask the same (can you tell that I read a little Jack Kerouac, "On the Road" being a favorite), therefore building confidence of being linked to such intelligent history, and also, as reminded by my father, "humbling to know that we are just a small part of the greater universe".

My father is from North Carolina, his roots are Scottish/Welsh, Jackson is Scott/Irish and Montgomery (Montgomery Shire in Wales) is of Welsh descent. My great-grandfather's last name was Montgomery, friends called him Monty and he had all daughters, one being my grandmother, hence my given middle name of Montgomery, with the intention of keeping the name in the family.

My mother is from Loc Khan, Vietnam, her family name is Tran (found at the beginning of name in Vietnamese culture i.e. Tran Lang [just a factoid for you]) and her mother's maiden name is Ngyuen. The two are the most common names in Vietnamese society, but in their history you will find poetic stories of triumph and perseverance.


There you have it, Monty Tran. Note that this is a combination of two maiden names, representing the feminine, the yin, and the peaceful -- which is what I'd like my work to speak of, knowing that I do not always -- being the masculine, the yang, and the destructive -- balance is key.