What is your Chinese name?

[wix]

I have thought of a few more too.

一安 (pinyin=yi'an) English name Ian

琳 (pinyin=lin) English name Lynn

麗麗 or 莉莉 (pinyin=lili) English name Lily

[ChouDoufu]

I've always steadfastly refused to get a Chinese name. I've talked about it with a lot of people and finally came up with this stance on my own. First of all, I'm not Chinese; so if I were to have an authentic Chinese name it would be somewhat strange. Secondly, and most important to me, a name is something that parents give to their child. So while I accept that some people do get Chinese names, I prefer to let Chinese call me by the bastardization of my English name. I think in an ideal world people would just be able to use the names they were given. I always feel bad for a person who says, "no one every says my name correctly so everyone calls me ____."

[Guest AnMeili]

My chinese teacher gave each of us a chinese name the first year. Mine was 尹梅 (yin mei). I don't know what this really had anything to do with my english name Melissa Earp (it's pronounced Arp). I didn't know any better at the time and I just accepted it, happy to have one. But then I decided to get one closer to my real name and with a better meaning. I was going to choose an "er" sounding surname, because that sounds kind of like my english one, but I couldn't find one. I decided 安 (An) was the closest and I like the meaning (peace). 美丽 (Meili) is close to Melissa, in a way, and it has a nice meaning, I don't want to be vain or anything. ;-) But together with the surname, 安美丽 means beautiful peace or peace is beautiful. Everyone who knows it say they like it. My chinese friends say it is much better than Yin Mei. Plus I figured how to write it in korean (you need korean encoding to see it): 안맬이. An is a korean surname too, a very popular one.

that's all,

安美丽

[Guest sjj17]

Well Im one of those people whose name noone here seems to be able to pronounce. I choose to have a Chinese name for when Im travelling because as far as Im concerned the people who are calling me "sala" and "serou" are not saying my name and I find it very annoying. If people arent going to call me by the name that my parents gave me, and that is not sala, Im going to choose one that I like the meaning and sound of. It also makes it much easier for the people that I meet and make friends with to remember it.

So ChouDoufu, why do you feel bad for me? I cant really understand.

Sarah

林雪

[Guest Anonymous]

Well Im one of those people whose name noone here seems to be able to pronounce. I choose to have a Chinese name for when Im travelling because as far as Im concerned the people who are calling me "sala" and "serou" are not saying my name and I find it very annoying. If people arent going to call me by the name that my parents gave me, and that is not sala, Im going to choose one that I like the meaning and sound of.

It's the same the other way around as well. My Chinese first name, Weili, is easy to pronounce (Although I've heard people call me "wee-lai") but I'd say about 99% of people pronounces my last name, Wang, as "Wayne". It's rather annoying but I correct people when I can, though sometimes I feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle.

[Tsunku]

My Chinese name is Lan(1) Jie(2) (dunno how to do the chars. on this comp). My first Chinese teacher chose it because its vaguely related to my English name, Jessica Larson. Lan starting with an "L" and Jie starting with a a "J" and all. I tried to change it when I first arrived in China, but I found Lan Jie stuck with me. Its common and simple, and the characters are easy to write. My Chinese friends who are able to speak English tend to call me "Jess" though (and insist that I call them by their English names, even my boyfriend!).

On the subject though, I think its a lot more common in China for people to go by different names So while it might feel strange for some of us to adopt another name while abroad and actually use it, its not really strange at all for the Chinese. My boyfriend is actually Dai, not Han Chinese, and he wasn't given a Chinese name until he entered school. His parents call him his Dai name, his school friends call him his Chinese name, and his foreign friends call him his English name. In ancient times it used to be common, especially for artists, to change names periodically as one entered into different phases in life. I think Chinese culture tends to see a name as a more mutable thing than we do in the west. Do you guys agree?

Jess

[Guest Anonymous]

Family name has always been much more important to the Chinese people than their given name. However, that's not saying their given name isn't important.

However, unlike Western cultures, there isn't really a list of names to choose from in Chinese. Although in the modern era, names are starting to be more generic. Since when picking a Chinese name, one has to consider both the way it sounds and what the characters mean, there's usually a whole wide range of combination. That's why there are so many books out there helping parents-to-bes to "come up" with a good name for their child. Often times, parents are honored to have someone they value in their lives to name their children. For example, both my brother and my names were given by my grandfather's best friend.

Under my impression, many Chinese people who speak English do have a English first name. However, that doesn't mean they want to replace their Chinese given name with their English one. It's more like a nickname than anything else.

[Tsunku]

Yeah, that's not quite what I meant. I agree with you about family name being more important, with given names still important, but less so. What I guess what I'm saying though, is that Chinese seem more comfortable with the idea of having various names than Westerners for the most part. I don't mean to imply that names have less value in China, or are less important, only that Chinese are perhaps more likely than westerners to go by different names depending on the context. That doesn't make them less significant though. If anything, names and their meaning carry a lot more importance in China than in the West, its just that it seems more common in China to have a lot of names to choose from.

As far as English names go, I agree, they're rarely used without some foreign context. I thought it was really interesting when I realized that when I introduced my boyfriend to other Chinese friends, they would inevitably end up using their English names with each other, even when speaking Chinese. There was definitly some sort of "cool" factor to it, but aside from that, I never saw a preference for English names over Chinese ones. Although there could be another thread entirely on what passes for an English "name" in China.

Jess

[Guest Anonymous]

I remember reading about famous people in the Chinese history, most of the time people's name are introduced as family name, given name, then a "chosen" (nickname?) name. For example, Dr. Sun Yat-sen was known as Sun Zhongshan but his given name was Sun Yixian (or maybe it's the other way around, I can't recall at this moment). From that, I believe having a "nickname", or a second name, has always been very important in China.

[wix]

I think Chinese culture tends to see a name as a more mutable thing than we do in the west. Do you guys agree?

It's not just in Chinese culture. This happens in many Asian cultures.

[smithsgj]

Names more mutable: agree 100%. I never get called anything except Simon, and Mr Smith by the bank manager, and dad. In Chinese I get called laoba, Shi Ba, Baba, Ba by my wife and son. people get addressed as Shifu, Laoshi, Changzhang (factory manager), Suozhang (the head of Owen's nursery school), xiao pengyou (Child!), older sis, younger buv, aiyi, susu, bobo, beibei for unrelated people of appropriate ages. There's even "xuejie" "Xuedi" etc to address people who went / are going to your school but in a different year-group. Not to mention English names (I've had students called Johnson, Wilson and Captain). Chinese people go by all sorts of different names, depending on who's talking to them.

One issue is that men don't (in Taiwan anyway) normally address women by given names and vice versa. In busisness they get round this by using English names.

[smithsgj]

Haven't told anyone else yet but since I don't know any of you here goes. Owen's going to have a little brother or sister!

Lots of suggestions above for girl's names, and I rather like Hannah. Nice English name, Han contrasts nicely with Ou in Owen, na is beauty or something I think.

But what if it's a boy again? Apart from Ian, any other suggestions?

[Guest Anonymous]

One issue is that men don't (in Taiwan anyway) normally address women by given names and vice versa. In busisness they get round this by using English names.

Traditionally, it's rude and impolite to address a colleague, stranger, or anyone older than you by just their given name. It's acceptable to address colleagues and strangers by their full name, but never anyone older than you. It's polite to address strangers by adding "xiansheng", or "xiaojie" after their last name. It's polite to address elders by their last name and adding either "yeye", "bobo", or "shifu" or "laoshi" if he or she is especially skilled in something.

Usually when an opposite sex calls each other by just their given name, it indicates intimacy. The same can apply to close friends, however usually friends call each by a nickname.

I believe the reason why co-workers and business people tend to call each other by their chosen English name is to avoid the cultural awkwardness. Also, I get the impression that when Chinese people call each other by their English name, the intimacy level is somewhere between calling their full name and just their given name, where it feels "just right". But of course, American pop-culture definitely has a great influence as well.

[skylee]

I believe the reason why co-workers and business people tend to call each other by their chosen English name is to avoid the cultural awkwardness. Also, I get the impression that when Chinese people call each other by their English name, the intimacy level is somewhere between calling their full name and just their given name, where it feels "just right". But of course, American pop-culture definitely has a great influence as well.

Agree. But this is more common among people of the same/similar rank. I still call some of my bosses xx xiangsheng/xx xiaojie. And when my subordinates call me by my given name (not often), I feel a bit uneasy. But of course my response can only be a polite "yes?".

But I have the impression that in the more americanized places, everyone is on first-name basis.

I remember reading about famous people in the Chinese history, most of the time people's name are introduced as family name, given name, then a "chosen" (nickname?) name. For example, Dr. Sun Yat-sen was known as Sun Zhongshan but his given name was Sun Yixian (or maybe it's the other way around, I can't recall at this moment). From that, I believe having a "nickname", or a second name, has always been very important in China.

I find the naming system of people in the past very confusing. Take Dr Sun for example, his family name was Sun (孫), his given name was Wen (文), his zi (字) was Deming (德明), his hao (號) was rixin (日新) later changed to Yat-sen (逸仙), his assumed name in Japan was Nakayama Shou (中山樵), thus the name Zhongshan (中山). Now all these "zi", 'hao", etc are very confusing. I GUESS "zi" is the name one uses when he starts to go to school, and "hao" is the name one chooses for himself when he grows up. Does anyone know what they really mean?

[Guest Anonymous]

I find the naming system of people in the past very confusing. Take Dr Sun for example, his family name was Sun (孫), his given name was Wen (文), his zi (字) was Deming (德明), his hao (號) was rixin (日新) later changed to Yat-sen (逸仙), his assumed name in Japan was Nakayama Shou (中山樵), thus the name Zhongshan (中山). Now all these "zi", 'hao", etc are very confusing. I GUESS "zi" is the name one uses when he starts to go to school, and "hao" is the name one chooses for himself when he grows up. Does anyone know what they really mean?

I believe it only seems confusing because this is something modern Chinese haevn't practiced for almost 100 years. I'm certain there are certain rules about when to use which name. Also, many people today also have multiple names, especially Americans with middle names. I know many people who go by different names under different situations. For example, one might have a name that he or she uses when they write articles or books for pubilshers, another might be a nickname that their family calls them by, and another that their friends call them by... etc. It may not be nearly as formal as in ancient Chinese society but it sure still occurs today.

[niubi]

my chinese name is 艾惟 which is a modification i made to the original chinese name (艾惟廉) given to me by my first chinese teacher.

[kangkai]

My chinese name is 康凯.

Interestingly enough, I asked two seperate friends to come up with a Chinese name for me and they both came up with this one - seperately! They had never met, so there was no chance they decided it together.

[Eloise]

My chinese name is 芮雪, it was given to me by one of the english teachers here because they needed it for some paperwork. Most people don't use it except for some who really struggle to pronounce my english name.

[Guest Kurochan]

Ooooh... yeah... My Chinese name is Wang Weili... it's bad enough that the average American mispronounces my last name' date=' "Weili" sounds a lot like "Willy... , you can imagine how fun my childhood was. :-)[/quote']

There was a kid in my school who was Chinese, and his parents gave him the English name Frank -- so he was Frank Lee. The teachers teased him about it, and would say, "Frankly, Frank Lee" to him a lot. We kids were a lot classier than they were and let it rest as soon as we knew he didn't think it was funny.

My Chinese name is 罗卉思. It was given to me by my first Chinese teacher. I think the Luo is related to the ending of my Western name, but I don't know about the rest. Chinese people think it's really pretty, and it has been useful because most Chinese people (as well as most Americans!) can't pronounce my last name, which is looooong and Italian. There are two problems with it, though. First, a lot of people can't recognize the "hui," since it isn't such a common character, and second, it's hard for me to say. I haven't changed it, though, because people like it so much.

[ax]

My Chinese name is 謝可為 [xie4 ke3 wei2] given by my parents

Literal meaning: grace or gratitude / for / to do

Real meaning: grateful, know how to repay kindness

breakdown:

謝

言 [yan2] = word, symbolize ability with language and word

身 [shen4]= body, symbolize good posture and health

寸 [cun4] = inch, symbolize attention to detail, painstaking

可

口 [kou3] = mouth, symbolize ability to speak, gift of gab

ㄎ [qiao3] = smart, eloquence

為

爪 [zhua3] = grasp, stability

灬 [huo3] = fire, power, survivability

I've done a picture of my name etymologicaly:

I guess that's about it

ax