Chinese name for somone called Matthew

[mvk20]

I'm trying to put my name into Chinese, and I wanted to get some comments as to whether or not I'm going about this in the right way. I went to chinesenames.org, where they have a lot of names and surnames listed, and found the following.

For my first name, Matthew, I found 马修, which is ma3 xiu1 in pinyin. Seems straightforward enough.

For my last name, it wasn't on the site, nor would it be on any site - it's uncommon and long. I put two names together that would pretty much be mine and it ends up being 5 characters long and still sounds pretty far away from how I'd pronounce it, because the sounds just aren't available in the Chinese language. So I was thinking about just using the first 2, which would be 库利, or ku4 li4. That part actually does sound like the beginning of my name. Do people do this, using a shortened form of their name for use in Chinese?

So, I was wondering if I'm on the right track using 库利马修, in terms of the shortening, in terms of how it sounds, in terms of the meaning, and with using surname before first name, even though I'm obviously a Westerner.

Any comments are much appreciated. Thanks!

[roddy]

A Chinese surname will normally only have one character - 库 is ok, as it can be a surname (though not a common one) but using 库利 would be a bit odd if you want something that sounds Chinese. 马修 would never be a given name in Chinese, but no reason why you can't use it if you want - it'll be recognized as the equivalent of Matthew.

[mvk20]

Thanks so much for the quick response, Roddy. I don't really mind whether or not a name I pick out is a name that a Chinese person could have, I'm just trying to pick out something that will work well and at least reflects my given Western name. Using my full name transliterated would yield a two character name, and a 5 character surname. That seems unwieldy to me, am I correct in that assumption? Is shortening a name something that Westerners commonly do?

If shortening is common and wouldn't be seen as odd, I'd be perfectly happy to go with 库 for a surname since it would be the first character of the 5 if I were doing a straight transliteration, and then go with 马修 as a name. I'd then be left a three character full name, which is pretty normal, right?

A side question I'd have would be about Chinese name stamps. If most Chinese have names that are 2 or 3 characters, and a name stamp usually has 4 characters, how does that generally work? If this side question should be broken off into a different thread let me know and I'd be happy to repost it in that fashion.

Thanks again for the help, and I'd appreciate more comments from Roddy and anyone else who'd feel comfortable weighing in.

[renzhe]

I believe that pickign a single-character surname that's the closest to the beginning of your own surname is the most common, and best way to go about picking a "Chinese" name.

To the Chinese, it will look normal, and they'll know what to do with it and you can use it everywhere a Chinese name is expected (which is presumably your goal in the first place), and it will still have something to do with your original name.

That's what I did myself, anyway.

[Lu]

What renzhe said, most westerners with a Chinese name have a one-character surname that is somewhat related to their real name (mine is 施, since my real surname starts with S...), and then a one- or two-character given name. 马修 doesn't sound native Chinese, but it's an acceptable name, and the standard transliteration of Matthew.

From what I've seen name stamps have as many characters as there are in the person's name, usually two or three. Sometimes the surname is written bigger on one half, and the given name in smaller characters on the other half.

There are other kinds of chops apart from the name chop, and these sometimes have a nickname or literary name, or a line of poetry or something like that, and those can have a lot more characters on them.

[mvk20]

Great! So it sounds like it would be fine and totally normal for me to go with 库马修 for my Chinese name. Surname first, right?

Is there anything funny or embarrasing about the way that sounds, other than the previously discussed two things:

1. 库 is not a very common surname

2. 马修 would never be a Chinese person's name but is the usual equivalent for Matthew.

I'm totally okay with those two "issues".

Thank you all so much for your help!

[character]

A related question: is it OK to use a number as your Chinese last name? My last name sounds like a Chinese number (not 4 ).

[roddy]

Not really - none of the numbers are surnames or used in transliterations, so using one in a name is going to stand out as odd and cause confusion. If that's what you want to do, fair enough, but I don't think anybody is going to recommend it.

[vickyshi1981]

Hi, my suggestion is you can choose 孔(kong) as your surname. You must be heard of 孔子 who is a very famous thinker in Chinese history. His surname is 孔 . As for your first name, you can choose 马修 or any character you like, Because the first name of Chinese people is alway the wish of their parents.

[Lu]

is it OK to use a number as your Chinese last name? My last name sounds like a Chinese number.

None of the numbers are surnames afaik, with one exception: 伍.

[roddy]

Ah, and 陆

[mvk20]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think that unless there's something really embarrasing about the way 库马修 sounds, or if taking a name like that is something really unusual for a Westerner to do, that's probably what I'll go with. Matthew has been my name all my life, so I'd really like to take the usual equivalent to that, and for the surname I would like it so sound like the beginning of my original one, again, unless that's something Westerners don't usually do.

Thanks again for all of the help!