Chinese given name for a woman

[Jon042023]

I am working on a book that has a Chinese character. She is a woman living in the western world and I am trying to work out a realistic name for her. She has no Chinese surname, but rather a western one. She has always lived in the west and simply picked a Chinese name for herself.

 

First disclaimer: I do not know any Chinese. ?

 

Second disclaimer:  The names I have found were by way of baby name sites and sound Chinese enough, but I have serious doubts that they are authentic.

 

The name I am using, currently, is Lian.

 

The other name I like is Daiyu, or if the construction for a given name is possible, Li Daiyu.

 

This is what I understand these names to mean:

 

Lian: graceful willow, or lotus flower.  I think Lian actually means lotus and the words for graceful willow just sound like Lian, perhaps written better as Li’an.

 

Daiyu: Black Jade. This one google’s pretty consistently, so it might be a direct translation.

 

Li Daiyu: Li meaning beautiful so when it is added to Daiyu you get Beautiful Black Jade, maybe. ? It also might be jibberish! Li seems to also mean something akin to strong or capable too. There seems to be a connotation here that might not translate to English directly.  Li also googles as a surname.

 

My favorite of the three is Li Daiyu, but I backed away from it because I was afraid I was making nonsense up.

 

So the first question I have is: are either of these legitimate Chinese given names for a woman? That is, could you encounter a woman with a given name of Lian, Daiyu, or Li Daiyu?

 

If so, is it possible to write any of those names in Traditional Chinese characters and have them understood as a name? If that is possible what would either name look like?

 

My goal here is to make the whole thing believable and realistic. I am also now curious about it having gotten this far on my own. So, to that ends, if there are any sites known to have accurate information, or perhaps a good/accurate primer for a westerner, please feel free to point me in that direction. Googling names will only get you so far!

 

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Moshen]

Quote

... a book that has a Chinese character. She is a woman living in the western world and... simply picked a Chinese name for herself.

 

I am concerned about the way you describe this woman. You say she is "Chinese" and picked her own name.  If she were truly Chinese (that is, from China) her parents would have picked her name.  If she picked her own name (presumably as an adult) then she would not be "Chinese," she would be "Chinese American," "Chinese Canadian" or whatever. You may think I'm being nitpicky, but this looks to me like it might be the tip of an iceberg poking out with some unrealistic other beliefs under the surface.  Please be sure you run this character by people who are sensitive to racial stereotypes.

 

I have never heard of a case like this, of someone born outside of China adopting a Chinese name as an adult, so you had better have a very believable back story for why she did this.  

 

Here is a helpful link about sensitivity readers in the publishing industry:

https://self-publishingschool.com/sensitivity-readers/

[Jim]

If you go with Daiyu I expect readers with some knowledge of Chinese literature will think it's a reference to Lin Daiyu from Dream of the Red Chamber, which you may or may not want. Also, in terms of realism, because of that I'm not sure if it's a name a Chinese person would pick.

[Lu]

On 4/26/2023 at 4:04 PM, JK Butler said:

I am working on a book that has a Chinese character. She is a woman living in the western world and I am trying to work out a realistic name for her. She has no Chinese surname, but rather a western one. She has always lived in the west and simply picked a Chinese name for herself.

Like Moshen, I'm confused. Chinese people have Chinese surnames, how come this woman has a Western surname? And Chinese children are usually given a Chinese name by their parents, or their grandparents. Even if they are abandoned as orphans, the orphanage gives them a regular Chinese name, and a Chinese surname too. There are exceptions, but you can't just handwave this. If this is a story you plan to have other people read, do make sure you get the background right.

 

And Jim is right about the name Daiyu. Do not use this name if you have no idea who it refers to. Lian is a much safer choice.

[Jon042023]

 Moshen & Lu - understood. And I do not think you are being nit-picky. In fact, that is precisely the reason I am exploring this. It occurred to me that I should be careful here.

 

I can assure I am trying to avoid any icebergs here!  ? In short, she an android that looks Chinese, and named herself Lian. The book has lots and lots of androids that look like all manner of humans. They all choose their given name at some point and being androids they lack a surname/ last name. Since this is the (far future) western world the other's characters have western names. I just thought it might be clever to have her adopt a Chinese name. And that is the beginning and end of any references to Chinese. She looks Chinese and chose a Chinese name. Other than that she acts and thinks exactly like the other characters. She also gets married and thus the western last name. They can do that, several of them get married.

 

That said, when I got into the weeds of finding a Chinese name, I realized I had better ask. It not quite as easy as googling it.

 

However, if  Lian works, and is proper female given name in Chinese, that might be it. After all, that is the way the story is written at the moment.

 

And Jim & Lu, noted, I will forget about Daiyu!

 

Thank you for your responses and concerns. That is why asked after all ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[abcdefg]

On 4/26/2023 at 8:22 PM, Jon042023 said:

However, if  Lian works, and is proper female given name in Chinese, that might be it. After all, that is the way the story is written at the moment.

 

I think that works just fine.