OUT OF AFRICA, 'SCRUBS' STAR ADDS TO HIS NAME

ASK Donald Faison, who plays "Scrubs' " Dr. Chris Turk, "What's in a name?" and he'll tell you.

It's "Adeosun."

Sandwiched between Donald and Faison is the name his parents brought back for him from their visit to Nigeria when Donald was just a tot.

Bestowed by a Nigerian priest, the name means "I put on the crown of Oshun," one of the Nigerian "orisha," or gods.

"It's almost like a song," Faison said. "If you listen to the way Africans speak, most of the languages are very melodic. So, it's AH-DAY-oh-SHOON."

Faison's been affectionately known as Shun - pronounced shoon - to his family and friends as far back as he can remember. Not even his wife calls him Donald, says the father of four.

As a youngster, at a professional children's school, Faison endured classmates teasingly mangling his given name but, in high school, fellow students, including a lot more girls, started inquiring about its origins.

When his turn as the supportive, reliable boyfriend in the film "Clueless" gave him his first big break eight years ago, Faison still used Adeosun.

But doing the talk-show circuit became a deal-breaker.

"People kept saying my [middle] name wrong," he said. "It took away from my work.

"Literally, I'd explain it once on the show and, the next time I was on, we'd talk about it again."

That's why Faison decided to low key the name.

"I said, those who know me as Shun will call me Shun, and if ever somebody wants to find out about it, I can tell them," he said.

"But, if you don't get it after a while, then I don't really want to have that conversation anymore."

These days, Faison's increased visibility seems to be eclipsing what to call him.

The 29-year-old actor, who had a recurring role on "Felicity," is one of the stars of "Uptown Girls," which opened over the weekend.

In the film, Faison plays an affable and loyal producer who gets his riches-to-rags friend Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) a job. The film's director, Boaz Yakin, had also worked with Faison on "Remember the Titans."

Also in the can is the movie "Good Boy!" in which Faison voices Wilson the Dog.

"He's a tough dog, but he's a good guy," Faison explained of his boxer character.

No doubt paramount in fans' minds is whether Faison's Dr. Chris Turk will marry Carla (Judy Reyes). The "Scrubs" duo postponed their tiny, $40-pricetag nuptials in the hospital chapel after the death of Carla's mother last season.

"My character wouldn't let me do that because he loves his girlfriend too much to let her throw away her dream of a big wedding," he says, adding he suspects these characters exchange vows during the upcoming season.

"I'm sure there's going to be something in the way. An obstacle. There always is."