Chinese Name

[Lu]

Liuzhou, while this is definitely very helpful, do your students agree to your posting their names on the internet?

[encal]

The way Chinese names work is as follows:

1st character = last name / family name

2nd character = traditionally this character denotes your position in the family tree, i.e. which generation of the Wu's or Li's you are. Male children are named this way more commonly than female children, and the practice was discouraged by the People's Republic of China when it came into power after WW2. That's why many younger generation Chinese names today are only 2 characters long, it's this one that was skipped.

3rd character = defines you. Usually the aspirations, hopes, or loves of the parent.

So, if you're looking for an authentic Chinese name, then start with 艾 (ai4). My suggestion though is to either keep it standard with 艾丽西娅, or go all out make up your own. Break up "Alicia" in to sounds, find Chinese words that sound alike, and google translate you Chinese words to see if you like what they mean in English.

Hope you have more fun then i did when i picked an English name!

[L-F-J]

that is quite like chinese buddhist monastics.

they all share the same family name (释), the first character in the chinese name for shakyamuni buddha.

then the second character denotes their generation, which is taken from a naming poem used by the monastery (字辈).

lastly, the third character represents the individual. it is a character chosen by one's teacher.

interestingly, my wife and her sister share the same sort of naming system, as do their uncles, cousins and so on.

i had a great time reading through their family generational book going many years back, and seeing all the different "generational" names. i asked her uncle if they had some sort of "family poem" as well. he said the father usually just picks a character he likes and uses it for the children, sometimes different for sons or daughters.

very interesting.

[dazeshenglong]

It will be much better if you can incorporate your surname bit in, like 柯艾丽 if your surname begin with a first syllable "co".

[Alicia]

My surname does start with "co". Psychic!

[dazeshenglong]

Then 爱丽 as a name will be better than 艾丽, my opinion.

[ABCinChina]

My wife is a two character, too. But my girlfriend has three!

Liuzhou has a mistress!

[leigao]

In mainland Alicia is sinofied as:

爱利沙

although it's very close to Alice:

爱利斯

but it's not like the two names are that different to begin with right?

[Alicia]

I think they're different! I absolutely despise the name Alice.