What will you consider when picking a Chinese name?

[SuXan]

Well... I'm a Chinese College student, and a foreign friend of mine is trying to pick a Chinese name for himself, who knows nothing about Chinese culture, so he asked me for help, but I know little about it (what a shame), 

So I'm here to ask what will you choose when you're picking Chinese name? Which letter will you prefer or what will you consider at first when picking a name?

Please give me some advice, thanks 0_0

[Flickserve]

The date and time of birth.

 

From that, you can choose the most likely names to balance him out. Perhaps he will have too much fire so you can pick a corresponding name with more water to balance him.

[大块头]

I use the transcribed version of my name and surname, but shift to a shortened form in certain social circumstances.

 

For example:

 

“我整个姓名是科比·布莱恩特，但是那个有一点长。我的中文简称是布科比。”

[Shelley]

Picking a chinese name is usually best done by chinese native speaker who knows the person well. There are lots of things to take into account when choosing a name and is not something to be taken lightly.

[li3wei1]

I believe there are certain beliefs about the auspiciousness/inauspiciousness of various stroke numbers, also you don't want to accidentally name them after some famous criminal or comic movie character. Some names just have certain connotations, like in English, no one is named 'Bessie' these days except cows.

 

Apologies to anyone named Bessie.

[Lu]

I'd pick something that sounds vaguely like my own name. Preferably a surname that sounds a bit like my real surname and a given name that sounds a bit like my given name, but a combination surname-given name that together sounds a bit like my real surname would also work. Some people get a combination surname-given name that sounds like their given name (Linda Jones -> 林达, or Marco Smith -> 马克). That also works, but personally I don't like those.

 

I would also want characters that have some kind of positive meaning and/or are considered suitable for names. I would want characters that are not so common that you share your name with everyone, but also common enough that anyone can write and pronounce them correctly on the first try. I have a friend who has 媞 in her name and while that is a lovely character, some computers can't type it and I met at least one well-educated Chinese person who pronounced it wrong.

 

And last but not least, the whole name put together should sound nice and have no unfortunate implications.

 

What's your friend's name? Perhaps some people here have good ideas.

[大块头]

 

Some people get a combination surname-given name that sounds like their given name (Linda Jones -> 林达, or Marco Smith -> 马克). That also works, but personally I don't like those.

 

I tried that at first, but it lead to some situations at work where people would use the surname + title construction to address me. For example, 马克 would turn into 马总 or 马工. It didn't feel right to split my given name like that.

[SuXan]

 

 

 also you don't want to accidentally name them after some famous criminal or comic movie character

LOL you know what, in the beginning, my friend do tried to pick the name "Sun Wu Kong" (not 孙悟空, the letter is different) cuz he just watched Monkey King: Hero is Back

[SuXan]

 

 

I'd pick something that sounds vaguely like my own name. 

Well.. that sounds like a good idea,

I tried so but...I just feel kinda irresponsible if I just randomly pick some letter that sounds like his own name as his name, a name should be meaningful IMO 0_0

[Shelley]

Just so you know, they are characters not letters.

 

It is difficult to help when we don't know his name, and I don't suppose posting his name on a forum is something he wants to do, that's why I suggest finding someone who knows about these things and go and ask in person.

[Kamille]

 

So now you're basically asking us to keep your promise in your stead   ?

 

I'd look up some other male Chinese names, if I were him, then I'd pick some characters that I found inside and put them together again in a new, personalized name, to finally show it to you (or us) and ask for confirmations that it's indeed a good name.

 

Using the name + surname of a famous dude is a bad idea in any language, not just in Chinese. Just think about how George Washington de laFayette must have been laughed at by his classmates in kindergarten

[Flickserve]

LOL you know what, in the beginning, my friend do tried to pick the name "Sun Wu Kong" (not 孙悟空, the letter is different) cuz he just watched Monkey King: Hero is Back

What's wrong with that?

Well, he was only teasing.

[SuXan]

 

Just so you know, they are characters not letters.

 

It is difficult to help when we don't know his name, and I don't suppose posting his name on a forum is something he wants to do, that's why I suggest finding someone who knows about these things and go and ask in person.

Plz excuse my poor English T T

and thanks for your suggestion~  I'm going to ask his Chinese teacher for advises later, thank you  

[SuXan]

Hello again friends, I've asked his Chinese teacher, and have came to a conclusion,

The name we choose for Thomas is 候禹骁, 

The surname 候 means "kings", and the year 2016 is 猴年 (猴 and 候 have same pronunciation) 禹is the name of Chinese first king, 骁means braveness,so the whole name means " a brave king" , Thomas loves stories of Chinese dynasties, I believe he would like his new Chinese name.

Thanks all of you for your advises

[Lu]

I'm not a native speaker, but that sounds lovely and well thought out! I hope Thomas is happy with his name (and lives up to it...)