Table of Contents
How do Chinese people come up with names?
The family name (or ‘surname’) is inherited from one’s parents and shared with other members of the individual’s immediate family. It always comes before the given name and is usually a single syllable/Chinese character. The given name (or ‘personal name’) is chosen at birth as the individual’s personal identifier.
Do Chinese go by first or last name?
Chinese surnames usually come first, followed by the given name. In our earlier example, Chan Tai Man, Chan is the surname while Tai Man is the given name.
Are Chinese names backwards?
Chinese people, except for those traveling or living outside China, rarely reverse their names to the western naming order (given name, then family name). Western publications usually preserve the Chinese naming order, with the family name first, followed by the given name.
Why Chinese have Western names?
The use of Western names thus serves as a buffer, to avoid being too formal and too intimate, and to avoid the embarrassing situation of addressing someone mistakenly as in downward communication.
Is Yin a girl or boy?
While yang and yin are not exclusively defined as “male” and “female,” and either sex can be considered yin or yang within a given context, in terms of their most general relation to one another, yin references the female and yang the male.
How do Chinese people choose their Western names?
As an old Chinese saying goes: “One does not fear if he/she has a bad fate; what one fears most is to have a bad name,” Chinese speakers use different mechanisms in the process of choosing their Western names. Some people choose Western names that resemble their original Chinese ones, either in terms of pronunciation or meaning.
Why do Chinese people have unconventional names?
It also happens that when there is special meaning in one’s Chinese name, one would choose an English name with similar meaning. Examples include: Rainy, Sky, Money, Cloud, Ice and River. Sometimes, in order to have unconventional names, Chinese speaking people get inspirations from famous brands.
Is it awkward to have the same name as someone in China?
While Westerners may see it as a happy coincidence that a stranger at a bar has the same name as them, in China this is more likely to cause awkwardness.
What are the most common first names in China?
Though Chinese speakers can be very creative with Western names, the more common first names are still very popular, such as John, Jack, Tim, Jane, Mary and Christine. It should also be noted that not only names from the US and the UK, but other European names or even Japanese names are also not unusual among Chinese speakers.