What's in a name?

Ever since my husband started working in China, I have wondered about all of the Chinese Nationals and their English names.  I have met a Gary, a Michael, a Cecilia, an Alice, and a Sophie here so far and I wondered if they chose an English name for ease of communication with Westerners because their Chinese names were too difficult to pronounce.  So I asked K's assistant Alice today where the name 'Alice' came from.  She laughed and said it was a funny story.  She told me that in middle school her English teacher came around the class with a list of English names and each student was to pick one.  She took a quick glance at the list and pointed to the one at the top and said, "that one looks good."  And thus, she has been Alice ever since!