Choosing your Chinese name

[Benjameno]

The suggestion 王杰明 was made by a Chinese acquaintance online, but I am still in the process of getting to know the Chinese community in Ottawa. Perhaps I should wait for another 8 months of study to go by before resuming my search for a name, by which time I'll be in the process of getting my visa.

So, to clarify, 王家明 is preferable over 王杰明 (and since no one commented on the 王， I assume that's fine)? The only reason I am slightly reluctant to go with 王家明 is that I want to avoid choosing the Chinese equivalent of John Smith; I looked up alternative characters to stand in for the 家， but apparently 王嘉明 is already the name of a celebrity.

[Sydney Matt]

Just came across this thread as I've been trying to think of a Chinese name for myself. I've been given a suggestion to turn my (two syllable) English surname into a combination of two Chinese surnames, based on sound, and then be creative with the given name. Realise it's an unusual pattern, but I really like the idea. Particularly as Matthew = 马太 is, well, a little boring. Still, I'm a bit unsure as to whether my ideas so far sound reasonable, or aren't quite right. Any comments & suggestions welcome. I have come up with these four possibilities so far:

敖马乐狗

敖马明月

敖马清港

敖马光笑

[skylee]

I like 敖马乐狗 a LOT. One can visualise what kind of person you are just by reading this name. I strongly support that you use it.

[kari]

I like 敖马乐狗 a LOT. One can visualise what kind of person you are just by reading this name. I strongly support that you use it.

"Angry horse, happy dog?" Are you serious? Besides sounding rediculous (to me), it might make a few people 大笑. I spent forever picking out my name based on meaning, stroke count, and Yin/Yang. I ended up with a 3 character name, though I strongly considered a two character one. Four character names are more uncommon.

敖马清港 is okay. 敖马明月...depending on your gender, the 明 is usually a masculine name. 敖马光笑... I don't recall anyone having 笑 in their name. My advice is to keep looking. Don't settle on one from the first few batches you come up with. I went through many names before I found the one that fit me. I know not everyone is concerned with having an auspicious name and Westerners certainly don't have to follow the rules, but you want a name that people will respect, not laugh at as soon as you turn your back.

You should search long and hard for that name that fits you. Yes 马太 is too generic. Chinese translations of Western names don't mean anything. The Chinese translation of Kari is 卡蕊 which is...bland. Don't go generic on your own Chinese name - dig, do your research, and find the name that fits you. You won't regret it!

[drungood]

What percent of Chinese names have 4 characters? Everyone I've met or heard of has either 2 or 3 character names. The number 4 is considered unlucky, so could that be why?

[kari]

What percent of Chinese names have 4 characters? Everyone I've met or heard of has either 2 or 3 character names. The number 4 is considered unlucky, so could that be why?

"In China, double surnames are not common. In fact, practically all surnames in common use are just one syllable long, giving, in combination with a 1- or 2-syllable long personal name, a 2- or 3-syllable-long full name. However, in 2007 experts and officials suggested that parents should be encouraged to create two-syllable (two-character) surnames for their children by combining their parents' (one-syllable) surnames; this could make people's names more unique, and "could help solve the problem of widely recurring names." - Wikipedia, page: Double-barrelled name

Doesn't give a percentage but it seems to be a new trend. Maybe it will catch on. 4 is an unlucky number so I'm sure that's being taken into consideration.

[skylee]

I think it is more because two-charcter family names are fewer/less common than one-character family names. However surnames like 歐陽 / 司徒 are not uncommon in Hong Kong. If I am not mistaken it seems that a member here has the surname 尉遲.

In fact, practically all surnames in common use are just one syllable long,

I disagree.

4 is an unlucky number so I'm sure that's being taken into consideration.

I don't think this is a factor in the length of a name.

[kari]

^ That's from Wiki, wasn't my opinion.

[skylee]

Those in #67 are my opinions.

[bieniu]

Hey

I got accepted for a semestre abroad in Taiwan. I have just received an application form from National Taiwan University and looks like I need a chinese name to fill it in! One option is to blindly accept a name they will assign to me, but the other is to come up with my own one. This latter seems more exciting Can you help me to that?

The guideline from NTU says the chinese name is required for registration and will be used on my student ID. I don't plan to have a chinese/taiwanese citizenship so do I assume correctly that the name will not be anyhow official? In that case, can I actually choose whatever 2-3 characters I want and ask someone if it is ok for a chinese name? Looks like the number of possibilities is unlimited here, so how do I choose!

My forum name, Bieniu, is also what my friends call me here in Poland (it's derived from my surname, and my given name is Łukasz (english pronounciation would be sth like Woocash). Since I once accidentaly stumbled upon a chinese word 别扭 which in pinyin sounds pretty much similar to what it sounds in polish, I'm thinking maybe I could use something that sounds like bie-niu? Of course not 别扭, as it seems to mean awkward

So.. any suggestions? Not only for bie-niu, I'll also apreciate any other hints about choosing a chinese name!

what would you say for 吴波牛?

PS sorry for a double post, only now I've spotted this topic

[blebaford]

Hey everyone. Male here. I've been given various Chinese names by different teachers in the past but I've brushed them off. Now I'm finally trying to pick a good one.

My last name starts with Mal (rhymes with pal). Thus my teachers have mostly chosen 毛 for my 姓. I'm not a fan of the Mao Zedong connotation, so I was thinking it would be better to go with 茅 or 茆 or 卯 or 貌. Maybe 冒. Then again mao doesn't really sound like Mal, so 马 could be just as good. Furthermore, transliterations of both my parents names start with 马.

My first name is Caleb (KAY-leb). The direct transliteration seems to be 凯莱布, which doesn't sound good to me. Caleb from the bible translates to 迦勒. I'm guessing names like 凯莱 and 迦勒 don't sound like real Chinese names. So what are some words pronounced like jia, kai, ka, ke, lai, or le that sound like true Chinese names?

[skylee]

Consider 侃若 for Caleb (Kanruo). For the surname, options include 麥 (Mai), 苗 (Miao) and 繆 (Miao). 麥侃若, 苗侃若 and 繆侃若 all sound pretty nice IMHO.

[Benjameno]

How does 李绎蹊 sound in terms of authenticity, euphony? Again, I'm not particularly worried about whether my Chinese name is reminiscent of my English name.

[Geiko]

I spent forever picking out my name based on meaning, stroke count, and Yin/Yang.

Reading this post I realise that I didn't give much thought to choosing a Chinese name. I simply picked a transliteration, first 杰玛，but then changed to 吉玛, because I was told 杰 is used mostly by men, and also because the first Chinese breeze novel I read had a character named 吉玛, so I thought it couldn't sound too bad. Afterwards I chose the surname 艾, because it sounds like 爱

What do you think about it? Does 艾吉玛 sound laowai? How could I choose a beautiful Chinese name, even if it doesn't sound like my real name (Gemma)?

[thechamp]

I think the best thing to do is ask a Chinese friend who knows you and you trust to give you a name. Probably based on your English name. I was first given a name by a chinese colleague...but she was a bit bookish and tried quite hard to make it sound like my English name - Alex. the result was 高啊力. Later when my chinese got better and I had some chinese friends whose taste I trusted I asked for a new name. Got 嘉岷 because it sounds like my surname. Was studying in Sichuan so it's 岷山and the 嘉陵江 put together to sound like my surname. I'm quite proud of it and Chinese people say it sounds nice too

[Lu]

艾吉玛 sounds a bit exotic to my ears, but it's also quite a nice name imo. If I were you I'd keep it.

[Geiko]

Really? Thanks for your opinion, Lu, I think I'm going to follow your advice!

[SXM]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if there was any male name that has a good meaning with the pinyin 'Xuansong'? I have chosen it because I like the way it sounds, and is (slightly) to my current name.

[ZhangKaiRong]

What about 禤竦 (xuan1song3) ?

The family name character is quite exciting to write, and 竦 means "respect", "respectful". Other choice for "song" could be 宋, which is the same as the dynasty name.

[Kike]

Hey guys,

Guess this is where we can ask opinions on Chinese names?

I can´t decide between these two names, and I keep putting off choosing a definite name, knowing I'll be using it for the next 2 years+. Kinda makes it difficult as I have no clue as to which one is better.

So for a first name I've got these two options:

佳琪 or 真理

I've got my surname figured already, but I just can't decide on a first name. I'm also not quiet sure what the translation is of the second name ('truth'?).

These two names sound nothing like my real name, but I don't mind. I would rather have something more authentic sounding.

Thanks!