I need some suggestions completing my Chinese name.

[Ness]

Hey there. I'm currently studying Mandarin Chinese. I've been studying for a couple of months now, but I still haven't decided on a Chinese name. I choose the first character because it sounds similar to my last name, which is "Durgin". The character I chose was 段, or "Duan". But I can't think of anything else to go with it. I'd like something that won't make people laugh. Any suggestions?

[jbradfor]

Are you a boy or a girl?

[doraemon]

I would hazard a guess from the username "Ness" that this person's a girl. But just to be safe I won't make any suggestions until we find out more about him/her.

Ness, can you tell us a bit about yourself? As in what impression do you want your name to give to people? Or maybe your personality or something you believe in? But you could always just pick one of those overused one character unisex names, such as 宁，波 etc, but you probably wouldn't like that very much.

[浪子欣欣]

If your surname is Durgin, the first one I can think is 多尔衮 not 段。You will get lots of respect from my suggestion.

[Jamasian]

I'm not Chinese so I'm not sure either. Sorry as I shamelessly add to your thread.

I want to use the last name of Lu/卢or Liu/刘 and I'm a girl. Is there a cute name with Ying/英 to complete this? I will be studying abroad in February and hope to have a solid name by then.

[Ness]

I'm actually a guy.

[abcdefg]

I want to use the last name of Lu/卢or Liu/刘 and I'm a girl. Is there a cute name with Ying/英 to complete this?

I have a (female) friend in Guangdong named 陈小英. You could be 刘小英 = liú xiǎo yīng. Ask some Chinese friends what they think about it.

[doraemon]

I want to use the last name of Lu/卢or Liu/刘 and I'm a girl. Is there a cute name with Ying/英 to complete this? I will be studying abroad in February and hope to have a solid name by then.

Isn't there this famous Taiwanese actress called 刘若英？You could always use that if you're not afraid of people making comments every time you tell them your name. I would personally prefer 卢 as a surname as 刘 is quite popular. I think 慧英 is quite a good girl's name.

I'm actually a guy.

I see I see... Have you decided upon a name yet? I think you'll need to tell us a bit more about yourself if you want us to find the right name for you.

[skylee]

I think 浪子欣欣's suggestion at #4 is excellent.

[DecafLat]

段 would be a great family name; it's common enough to keep people from asking you how to write it, and not so common that they will think you're unimaginative.

But do take extra care in case of possible negative connotations (due to homophones), because 段 sounds exactly like 断, and similar to 短.

Some great names from the Duan family include:

段成式, a renowned 10th century author;

段子璋, a Tang Dynasty bureaucrat;

段志玄, another Tang Dynasty bureaucrat;

段誉, fictional character from the novel Demi-Gods and Demi-Devils.

[Ness]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've actually decided on 段羽. Let me know what you think.

[skylee]

段羽 makes me think about 斷羽, broken feather -> broken wing. But perhaps it is just me. perhaps it is all right.

[xiaocai]

Sounds like a normal Chinese name to me. But may we know why you chose it?

[Ness]

Not so sure. I just thought it sounded cool from a western perspective. I've gotten mixed reactions from some people. My Chinese teacher was a little puzzled by it, but thought it was alright. This Chinese girl I know that works at a bar laughed because she thought it sounded like a name out of a action movie or something.