Changing names

[abcdefg]

I recently got an e-mail from a Chinese friend who told me, in the course of her newsy note, that she just changed her name.

哦，告诉你一个好消息。我有一个新名字了：宋依蔓。我觉得很好听。

She's a late 20's, well educated, professional person who I've known for several years as 宋亚洁。She never said anything about not liking her given name.

My question is: How common is that? I know that famous writers, painters and scholars may change names several times during different phases of their careers and lives.

I have quite a few Chinese friends, and can't remember any others who have just changed names. Is there usually a precipitating event, by which I mean is there usually a "why" to it? Or does one sometimes just change names on a whim like one might change hair styles?

[SiMaKe]

@abcdefg

Hope I'm not deviating too much from your issue, but I find interesting the different ways different societies regard/use names, and multiple names. For example, I've been told that, at least in the past, Tibetans and Mongolians traditionally don't have last names. I learned this from Tibetan and Mongolian friends. Also, in dynastic Chinese society, many people had three different names (learned this from 三国演义). And then there is the whole realm of naming within various royal families (both Chinese and western).

My current question>

What are the legal ramifications of the change that you are referring to? That is, is such a name change made "legal" through some official process (e.g., court degree or a marriage license) as in the west, whereby the current one is fully replaced, for all legal purposes, by the new one? Or does the new one just exist as an informal way of referring to someone (like a nick name) or stage name?

[abcdefg]

My current question>

What are the legal ramifications of the change that you are referring to? That is, is such a name change made "legal" through some official process (e.g., court degree or a marriage license) as in the west, whereby the current one is fully replaced, for all legal purposes, by the new one? Or does the new one just exist as an informal way of referring to someone (like a nick name) or stage name?

I really don't know.

She just said "哦，告诉你一个好消息。我有一个新名字了：宋依蔓。我觉得很好听" then went on to talk about other subjects. The young lady's occupation (?profession? -- see other thread) is university teacher and she's not particularly flighty or capricious. But I don't know if she's registered this new name for 身份证 purposes or had a chop made or changed over to using it on her credit cards and bank account, etc.

So perhaps it is just a nickname. My question was one of idle curiosity; nothing hangs in the balance.

[xianhua]

I wonder how straightfoward it would be for this lady to change her passport (I'm guesing she travels from your description) and other forms of identification? My wife's Chinese-issued passport contained (and still does) an incorrect date of birth. When she made enquiries about changing their mistake, the mountain of bureaucracy she would have to climb, made the exercise unappealing. To this day, she still gives out her date of birth based on her passport to ensure consistency. Now things may have become easier in the years since then, but then again...

[doraemon]

I actually know two people who changed their names simply because a fortune teller told them to. Weird. They were:

于东洋 to 于明洋 (boy)

王婧 to 王怡冉 (girl)

There was also somebody I know who changed her name from 徐雅丽 to 徐亚利 because she always fell sick when she was a child so her parents wanted her name to sound stronger which would apparently repel the illnesses. She said it actually sort of worked.

[roddy]

I went with a friend to one of the 启名 places around the Lama Temple in Beijing - she was getting a name suggested for her new nephew, but ended up doing one for herself as well. She asked how to go about actually changing it officially and was told that it wasn't important - use it with family and friends, maybe have it engraved onto a piece of jewelery so you could always carry it next to you, and you'd still get the benefits.

Looks like official changes of names are allowed in the 中华人民共和国户口登记条例. (17,18)

[SiMaKe]

roddy, thanks for the link. So just like in the west, if deemed necessary, you can change your name. And of course, the regular reasons apply as well: marriage, divorce, adoption.

[Lu]

It's not uncommon, I know at least three people (two Taiwanese, one Chinese) who changed their name at some point. One woman in her fourties, because while her name was nice when she got it, over the years it got some unintended other meaning making it unfit fit for a name. One man in his thirties/fourties because his son was sick, and changing his own name should help. Together with his Chinese name, he also changed his English name to match his new Chinese name (the son recovered). And one young woman had her name changed when she was little because she was sick a lot, and changing her name should help (she got better). Those latter two changes where advised by fortune tellers.

If I were the OP I'd ask the friend about it, if only because I'm always very curious about such things.

[abcdefg]

I've sent an e-mail back asking why she changed her name and also asking whether it is now her official name or only a nickname that she will use casually with friends. Perhaps that will shed some light on it.

And I had totally forgotten about the fortune-teller recommended name changes. I have a friend who was told at an early age that her name did not contain enough gold and she would never become prosperous unless it was modified. So she became 李鑫铭。 Unfortunately, it didn't work: she still isn't rich.

[skylee]

With four golds in her name and she still is not rich. Good story.

[gougou]

鑫

Really? You need a fortune teller for that?

I've also had a couple of friends changing their names, mostly also because of fortune tellers. I think most of them changed completely, i.e. including ID cards and everything.

[roddy]

I have a friend who was told at an early age that her name did not contain enough gold and she would never become prosperous unless it was modified.

Funny how there always seems to be good money in telling people how to get rich . . .

[gougou]

So I just skimmed the 2010新财富中国富豪榜1至100名, the first gold I could find was on place 46. (Even though the company name of the guy on spot 24 also had one - and, more sensibly, the guy on spot 10 had one in the field describing his business...)

After thorough statistical analysis, it turns out characters much more likely to make you rich are 王 and 张。

[doraemon]

After thorough statistical analysis, it turns out characters much more likely to make you rich are 王 and 张。

LOL. I really hope that comes true. My surname is 王.

Anyway, I really don't think having a 'lucky' or 'unlucky' name would actually affect how your life turns out, but I've known people whose names tend to be really 'big' (I can't think of another way to put this). For example, I know people whose names are 占球，海深，天佑 etc, which somehow all involve natural/supernatural elements. A lot of my family members and friends don't really like these type of names though...They're sort of afraid that the earth/heavens might get angered if your name challenges their authority. When I ask them why, they usually reply ‘天地还能容得下你？’ ^_^

[Lu]

I wouldn't name a kid that mostly for fear that it would be so hard to live up to a name like that. Even if they find a good job and work hard, they're unlikely to rule the world, and then they still fall short.

I had a friend named 颖颖, she joked that her parents were afraid she'd grow up to be stupid. I had another friend named 婷, she joked that her parents apparently didn't care about her brains, just about her looks.

[doraemon]

I had another friend named 婷, she joked that her parents apparently didn't care about her brains, just about her looks.

That's actually quite funny to me because one of by distant relatives was also named 婷 and although she was quite pretty, wasn't the cleverest person and also struggled severely throughout her schooling. But now she's married to some guy who's relatively rich and is living her life pretty well. Interesting...

[roddy]

They should count themselves lucky, my friend 小婷's parents decided to belittle her into the bargain . . .

[jbradfor]

And I've always thought that giving a girl a name like "Chastity" is just begging for trouble.

[gougou]

And I've always thought that giving a girl a name like "Chastity" is just begging for trouble.

I think the real trouble starts when you want to change a name like that, say to 鑫. I mean, what are people gonna think?

[xiaocai]

I think the real trouble starts when you want to change a name like that, say to 鑫. I mean, what are people gonna think?

I thought 鑫 is a very common given name?