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Chinese Names

Summary

Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western culture. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the surname first and the given name second. For instance, the basketball player who is commonly called Yao Ming (whose name in the English order should actually be Ming Yao), would be addressed as "Mr. Yao", not "Mr. Ming".

Note however, some Chinese people who emigrate to or do business with Western countries sometimes adopt a Westernized name; by simply reversing the "surname-given name" order to "given name-surname", or with a Western first name together with their surname, which is then written in the usual Western order with the surname last. Other Chinese people sometimes take a combined name, consisting of Western first name, surname, and Chinese given name, in that order.

Traditional naming schemes often followed a pattern of using generation names as part of a two-character given name; however, this is less used today, especially in the mainland of the People's Republic of China, where many given names use only one character. However it is still the norm among the Chinese populations of Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

When generation names are used as part of a two-characters given name, it is generally inappropriate and can be confusing to refer to someone by the first part of their given name only which will generally be their generation name. Instead, the entire given name should be used. This should be the case regardless of whether the surname is used. For instance, referring to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as Hsien or Hsien Lee would be confusing as this could just as easily refer to his brother. However this does commonly occur in Western societies where the first part of the given name is frequently mistakenly used as the first name when the given name is not hypenated or adjoined.

In addition to the given name, many Chinese have various kinds of nicknames.

Family names

The Chinese name system is the original pattern of names in Eastern Asia. In fact, all countries in Eastern Asia have followed the Chinese name system. Today, there are over 700 different Chinese family names, but as few as twenty cover a majority of Chinese people. The variety in Chinese names therefore depends greatly on given names rather than family names. The great majority of Chinese family names have only one character, but there are a few with two.

Chinese family names are written first, something which often causes confusion among those from cultures where the family name usually comes last. Thus, the family name of Mao Zedong is Mao (毛), and his given name is Zedong (traditional: 澤東, simplified: 泽东).

Married Chinese women usually retain their maiden names as their family name, rather than the adopted name of their husband, and children usually inherit the father's family name. Historically, it was considered taboo to marry someone with the same family name--even if there is no direct relationship between those concerned--though in recent decades this has no longer been frowned upon.

Given names

Generally speaking, Chinese given names have one or two characters, and are written after the family name. When a baby is first born parents often give him or her a "milk name" or "little name," such as Little Treasure (小寶/ 小宝). The given name is then chosen somewhat later: in China, parents have a month before having to register the child. The parents may continue to use the nickname.

With a limited supply of family names, Chinese depend on using given names to introduce variety in naming. Almost any character with any meaning can be used. However, it is not considered appropriate to name a child after a famous figure and highly offensive after an older member among the family or even distant relatives.

Given names resonant of qualities which are perceived to be either masculine or feminine are frequently given, with males being linked with strength and firmness, and females with beauty and flowers. Females sometimes have names which repeat a character, for example Xiuxiu (秀秀) or Lili (麗麗, 丽丽). This is less common in males, although Yo-yo Ma (馬友友 Mǎ Yǒuyǒu, 马友友) is a well-known exception.

In some families, one of the two characters in the personal name is shared by all members of a generation and these generational names are worked out long in advance, historically in a poem listing the names. Also, siblings' names are frequently related, for example, a boy may be named pine (松, considered masculine) while his sister may be named plum (梅, considered feminine).

Chinese personal names also may reflect periods of history. For example, many Chinese born during the Cultural Revolution have "revolutionary names" such as strong country (強國, 強国) or eastern wind (東風, 东风). In Taiwan, it used to be common to incorporate one of the four characters of the name "Republic of China" (中華民國) into masculine names.

Romanization of Chinese names
In mainland China, Han names are romanized in pinyin, usually without tone marks. The name order is the same as in Chinese, with the surname first follwed by the given name. Two character given names or surnames (much less common) are written as one word, a hypen or space is not used. The first letters of the surname and given name are in capital letters, but sometimes capital letters are used for the whole surname, especially for official purposes.

For example:
Gong Li or GONG Li (one character surname, one character given name)
Mao Zedong or MAO Zedong (one character surname, two character given name)
Sima Qian (two character surname, one character given name)