Chinese name Peck-Yuen (Cantonese)

[atitarev]

Hi,

Any idea how to write (possible combinations) a female name "Peck-Yuen"? I'd like to help a classmate, she has no idea, which characters are used but I think this name is not unique, although may not be too common.

[skylee]

I cannot think of any characters that are pronounced "peck" and can be used in a name. Take a look at this page which lists the characters pronounced "pek" -> http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-can/pho-rel.php?s1=p&s2=ek&s3=-&classified=classified.php%3Fst%3D0

As for "yuen", there are lots of option -> http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-can/pho-rel.php?s1=j&s2=yun&s3=-&classified=classified.php%3Fst%3D0

The most common "yuen" for a female name is 婉,

[atitarev]

Thanks Skylee,

The romanisation is dodgy, of course (Pek->Peck) but that's the way it spelled and the Chinese spelling is not known (at least not at the moment).

Are these two: 劈婉 or 擗婉 possible combinations for a female name?

Looks like 劈婉 is more likely

I searched the web, the results are not promising, not sure if this is any indication.

I found more people with the spelling "Pek-Yuen" (without c)

Thanks for your help

[Mugi]

If the person is from Singapore or Malaysia, then 白 or 柏 would be conceivable. Cantonese pronunciation (at least the romanisation of names) often gets influenced by other dialects. Or sometimes it turns out the the person's grandfather was from a non-Cantonese speaking part of South China, but the rest of the family from a Cantonese speaking area. Or it may be that the family is Seiyip (四邑), in which case character pronunciations are often closer to Hakka than standard Cantonese.

[atitarev]

Thanks, Mugi, she said her parents only spoke Cantonese, not Hakka but I don't have any more details. Perhaps, it's the influence. I'll ask a bit more when I see her next time.

[studentyoung]

Peck-Yuen

Hmmm…? Which character is her surname? If it’s Yuen, that her surname might be 阮, 袁. So her name might be阮碧or 袁碧.

If her surname is Peck, perhaps her surname is 皮, and her name is 皮媛，皮婉，皮纨, etc.

If there is no her family name included in Peck-Yuen, that her first name might be 碧婉.

Cheers!

[atitarev]

Studentyong, it's only the first name, if it helps, I didn't mention her last name here.

[Mugi]

Disregard my character suggestions - I assumed "Peck" was the surname.

If it's part of the first name, then there are several other options, of which studentyoung's is probably the strongest contender. 皮 could not possibly be "Peck", as it's not an entering tone character 入聲字.

As for my "Hakka" comment, I think you've misunderstood - I'm not suggesting she's Hakka, or any part of her family are Hakka, merely pointing out that Seiyip Cantonese pronunciation is often closer to Hakka pronunciation than standard GZ/HK Cantonese, which may account for why the spelling is "Peck" as opposed to "Pak/Pik/Bak/Bik/" etc.

[skylee]

碧婉 as suggested by studentyoung is possible.

IMO people don't use the characters 劈 or 擗 in names.

If your friend's parents speak Cantonese probably they can write in Chinese too? Perhaps she could ask her parents to write down the name for her?

[atitarev]

I understand they are a long way from Melbourne but I really don't know. She didn't ask me for a favour but only said she doesn't know the characters for her name.

I'll add 碧婉 Bìwǎn as a suggestion. In Cantonese it's Bik-Yuen, isn't it?

[studentyoung]

In Cantonese it's Bik-Yuen, isn't it?

Hehe. Well, consider this. In English, 北京 was once called "Peking". In fact, even in Cantonese, it's still bak1 ging1. "B" or "P" depends how people spell a character. Even the girl just speaks Cantonese, it still can't guarantee that she can spell a character exactly the same as what you hear or what you can find in a dictionary, due to accents in different area or different ways to spell a character.

Cheers!

[Lu]

I don't know about Australia, but it seems that in Holland spelling of a Chinese name can depend on what the official in charge when the father is reporting the birth of the child hears in it, and how that official decides to spell it. I know some people with their names spelled in all kind of unlikely ways. Something similar might have happened with Peck-yuen.

The most direct way for your friend to find out the characters to her name is by asking her parents. They are the most likely to have the best information.

[atitarev]

Yeah, I know this, thanks. I double-checked the 2nd one, it's not Yuen but Yun.

Anyway, she already got an email, waiting for her reply.

Many students-Chinese learners choose a Chinese name to use in class. I used to be 吉托利 now I am 安德利.