Ultimate Guide To Chinese Names and Surnames - CLI

5/27/2021 Ultimate Guide to Chinese Names and Surnames | CLI
Ultimate Guide to Chinese Names
Chinese names can be puzzling for those not familiar with Chinese language
and culture. This article will provide you with the ultimate guide to Chinese
names.
Read on to learn about Chinese surnames and discover how first names are
picked, how to address others using diminutives and how to pick your own
Chinese name!
Table of Contents [hide]
Chinese surnames
Top 10 surnames
https://studycli.org/chinese-culture/chinese-names/ 1/18
How are Chinese first names chosen?

Characters
Tonal harmony
Naming taboos
Most common first names

Maiden and married names
Nicknames and terms of endearment
老 (Lǎo, old)
小 (Xiǎo, little)
阿 (Ā, no distinct meaning)
Example: Our friend 王宇航 (Wáng Yǔháng)
Adaptation of English names

Lost in translation
The growing influence of Mandarin Chinese
Choosing your Chinese name

Chinese Name Vocabulary
Chinese surnames
In Chinese language and culture, it’s common practice to start from big to
small. For example, addresses will start from the country and move down to
the house number, and names always start with the surname first. Therefore,
someone named John Smith would be referred to as Smith John according to
Chinese naming conventions.
Children usually inherit their father’s surnames, though it’s also legally possible
for children to take on their mother’s maiden surname.
Although the 百家姓 (Bǎijiāxìng, a classical Chinese text created in the Song
dynasty) lists over 400 official Chinese surnames, in today’s China, the top 10
surnames account for the majority of the population. This homogeneity is

mainly due to the fact that the biggest ethnic group in China is the Han
Chinese.
Although there are hundreds of Chinese surnames, most people have one of the 10 most popular
names.
Here are the top 10 Chinese surnames and the total number of people with
each name in Mainland China:
Top 10 surnames
Surname Population
1. 李 (Lǐ) 7.94％ (95,300,000)
2. 王 (Wáng) 7.41％ (88,900,000)
3. 张 (Zhāng) 7.07％ (84,800,000)
4. 刘 (Liú) 5.38％ (64,600,000)
5. 陈 (Chén) 4.53％ (54,400,000)
Surname Population
6. 杨 (Yáng) 3.08％ (37,000,000)
7. 赵 (Zhào) 2.29％ (27,500,000)
8. 黄 (Huáng) 2.23％ (26,800,000)
9. 周 (Zhōu) 2.12％ (25,400,000)
10. 吴 (Wú) 2.05％ (24,600,000)
COURTESY OF kknews.cc
As you can see, the surnames Li (李) Wang (王) and Zhang (张) cover more
than 20% of the population.
How are Chinese first names chosen?

A chinese name, or 姓名 (xìngmíng), consists of a surname (姓 xìng) and a first
name (名 míng). Chinese first names are usually made up of two characters,
although single character first names also exist. The process of picking a name
for a newborn is taken seriously and many different factors are considered:
Characters
Most parents choose Chinese characters with meanings that they hope their
children will embody. Often, they also pick characters with connotations which
are perceived as being either masculine or feminine. For boys, this usually
means characters that denote strength and might, and for girls characters that
convey beauty and elegance.
In more religious and traditional families, the Five Elements (五行 wǔxíng) and
their association with each Chinese zodiac sign play a critical role in the
characters chosen.
Based on his or her natal chart, a child may have too much or too little of an
element, and so a character that represents the missing element is often
chosen to create balance.
For example, a child might “lack fire” (缺火, quē huǒ) in his or her birth chart
and so his or her name might include an (always auspicious) character that
includes a fire radical such as 杰 (jié), 荧 (yíng), 炫 (xuàn) or 炜 (wěi).
A good name is critical to a person’s good fortune. In Chinese philosophy, the

five elements play an integral role in the balance of life.
The following saying shows the relationships that are traditionally believed to
exist among the five elements:
金克木，木克土，土克水，水克火，火克金。
Jīn kè mù, mù kè tǔ, tǔ kè shuǐ, shuǐ kè huǒ, huǒ kè jīn.
Metal overcomes wood, wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, water
overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal.
Traditionally, the characters in Chinese names are chosen based on the elements that they represent.
Tonal harmony
As you may be aware by now, Chinese is a tonal language. Therefore, it’s very
important to consider how the characters sound together, especially when
combined with the surname.
Not only does the name need to have a pleasing sound, but due to the large
number of Chinese homophones, wordplay can result in either auspicious or
inauspicious meanings.
Naming taboos
It is inappropriate to name a child after a famous person. In ancient times, this
meant not using the same name as the emperor, but in modern times, that
could mean avoiding using names linked to celebrities or any other well-
known people. Failure to respect this taboo comes across as extremely
immodest, so it’s best to choose a nondescript name.
Most common first names

Originating from Taiwanese, the word “farmer’s market name” (菜市场名,
càishìchǎng míng) is used to refer to a name that is so common that when
called out in any farmer’s market, many heads would turn. Very much like the
Johns and Karens of the English speaking world!
Here are the top first names for men and women according to the 2019
National Name Report:
First name (female) Pinyin
一诺 Yīnuò
依诺 Yīnuò
欣怡 Xīnyí
梓涵 Zǐhán
诗涵 Shīhán
欣妍 Xīnyán
雨桐 Yǔtóng
佳怡 Jiāyí
佳琪 Jiāqí
梓萱 Zǐxuān
First name (male) Pinyin
浩宇 Hàoyǔ
浩然 Hàorán
宇轩 Yǔxuān
宇航 Yǔháng
铭泽 Míngzé
子墨 Zimò
梓豪 Zǐháo
子睿 Ziruì
子轩 Zixuān
梓睿 Zǐruì
SOURCE: https://udn.com/news/story/7335/4300852
Maiden and married names
In traditional Chinese culture, women retain their original surnames after

marriage and the idea of taking your husband’s name is almost non-existent.
This is due to the influence of strong filial piety and patriarchal values in
Chinese culture. Traditionally, women were identified by their fathers’ lineages.
People today have the freedom to choose either parent’s last name, but it’s
usually the father’s surname that’s passed on to the child.
In China, women keep their maiden names after marriage.
Nicknames and terms of endearment

老 (Lǎo, old)
Generally speaking, 老 (lǎo) is only used for males. Most commonly, 老 (lǎo) is
used as a colloquial prefix of respect. It can be used for someone with whom
you are acquainted, usually of the same age as yourself. It can also be used for
people who are older than you or who have a superior position.
However, keep in mind that although 老 (lǎo) is frequently used for people
who are not young, addressing a person who is actually a lot older than you by
adding 老 (lǎo) to their name is very impolite. Instead, you can call them 哥
(gē, older brother), 姐 (jiě, older sister), 阿姨 (āyí, aunt) or 叔叔 (shūshu, uncle).
小 (Xiǎo, little)
小 (xiǎo) can be used both for males and females. It’s usually a term of
endearment and can also be used when addressing subordinates.
阿 (Ā, no distinct meaning)

This is usually prefixed to the last character of a person’s name to produce an
affectionate or diminutive sounding form of address. It’s mainly used by
speakers of the Hokkien, Hakka and Min dialects in southern China.
Example: Our friend 王宇航 (Wáng Yǔháng)

Let’s say we have a person called 王宇航 (Wáng Yǔháng) who is around 30
years old. His friends might call him 老王 (Lǎo Wáng) while his boss might call
him 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng). Those younger than him might call him 王哥 (Wáng Gē)
and those a lot younger than him might refer to him as 王叔叔 (Wáng Shūshu).
In Chinese, there’s actually a joke about how you know you’re getting old
when younger people start calling you 阿姨 (āyí) or 叔叔 (shūshu)!.
王宇航 (Wáng Yǔháng) might also have several nicknames. His grandparents
might address him by repeating the last character of his first name: 航航
(Háng Háng), or if he’s from southern China, his older family members might
call him 阿航 (Ā Háng).
There are no hard rules when it comes to nicknames as they’re naturally

selected by family or friends during the course of one’s life. The nicknames a
person receives tend to depend on his or her character and relationship to
others.
Chinese children often have a cute nickname chosen by their family members.
Adaptation of English names

Many Chinese adopt English names for a variety of reasons, such as to help
them achieve better integration in a foreign country or workplace, or simply
because English names are easier for foreigners to pronounce and remember.
Usually, elementary or middle school English teachers provide English names

for their students, but some students will also choose their own names.
Lost in translation
As already mentioned, Chinese names are chosen based on their sound and
their positive meanings. However, when the same principles are applied to
choosing English names, it sometimes results in the choice of what most
English speakers would consider bizarre English names.
It’s not uncommon to meet Chinese people whose English names are Candy,
Happy, Sunny, Star, or even something cute like Piggy. Often, these strange
names are actually direct translations from their Chinese names.
The growing influence of Mandarin Chinese

There are more and more reasons to learn Chinese, especially when you
consider China’s growing economic power. As more people around the globe
start to gain familiarity with the Chinese language, many Chinese people are
deciding to stick to their original names instead of adopting an English name.
This usually means using the Hanyu Pinyin system to transcribe their names
(albeit without the tone marks). Since Chinese surnames come first while
western surnames come last, many (but not all) Chinese people who keep their
original Chinese names may still choose to reverse the order so that their
surname comes last. Thus, our previously mentioned friend 王宇航 (Wáng
Yǔháng) might choose to be referred to as Yuhang Wang in a foreign setting.
Choosing your Chinese name

After reading this article, you may be wondering how to pick your own
Chinese name.
Even if you have a good level of Mandarin, it’s best to have a native speaker
pick a name for you due to the number of cultural nuances involved. A perfect
candidate would be your Chinese teacher.
If you don’t have a Chinese teacher, you can check out our online one-on-one
Chinese classes and even schedule a free trial class.
It’s best to seek help from a native Chinese speaker when choosing your Chinese name.
When picking your name, your teacher should take into consideration your
personality, date of birth and your name in your native language.
Choosing an appropriate Chinese name takes time and effort. If you need to
introduce yourself on short notice and haven’t yet had time to pick a Chinese
name, you can always use the Chinese transliteration of your English name.
Keep in mind, however, that it’s always best to choose an authentic Chinese
name for yourself rather than just using your name’s Chinese equivalent.
Why should you adopt a Chinese name? Learning any language requires you
to cultivate a genuine interest in the corresponding culture. It’s important to
adopt a Chinese name as this demonstrates seriousness in learning the
language and respect towards Chinese culture.
Choosing a Chinese name can also be fun and presents a great way for you to
fully develop your new Chinese identity as you immerse yourself in this rich
and beautiful language. So what are you waiting for? 取一个名字吧！
Chinese Name Vocabulary

Chinese Pinyin English
取名字 qǔ míngzì to pick a name
好运 hǎoyùn good luck
积极 jījí auspicious
消极 xiāojí unlucky
算命 suànmìng to tell someone's fortune
五行 wǔháng five elements
木 mù wood
火 huǒ fire
土 tǔ earth
金 jīn metal
Chinese Pinyin English
水 shuǐ water
五行 (火) 多 wǔháng (huǒ) duō to have too much (fire) *can insert any element
五行缺 (火) wǔháng quē (huǒ) to lack (fire)
补救 bǔjiù to remedy
生辰八字 shēngchén bāzì natal chart (based on Chinese calendar)
One-on-One Chinese Lessons
Continue Exploring
CHINESE CULTURE
Your Guide to the Year of the Monkey
CHINESE CULTURE
Understanding the Chinese Zodiac:

Year of the Dog
CHINESE CULTURE
The Culture and History of Chinese

Bamboo
CHINESE CULTURE
The Qing Dynasty: China’s Last

Imperial Age
CHINESE CULTURE
An Introduction to Traditional Chinese

Clothing
CHINESE CULTURE
What does China’s version of the world

map look like?
CHINESE CULTURE
What Languages are Spoken in China?
CHINESE CULTURE
Your Guide to the Year of the Ox

(2021)
CHINESE CULTURE
The Tang Dynasty: China’s Golden Age
info@studycli.org
USA (888) 781-8383

PRC (+86) 0773-759-9367
Copyright 2021 Terms & Conditions FAQ Learn Chinese in China

Ultimate Guide To Chinese Names and Surnames - CLI

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ultimate Guide To Chinese Names and Surnames - CLI

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ultimate Guide To Chinese Names and Surnames - CLI

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

5/27/2021 Ultimate Guide to Chinese Names and Surnames | CLI

Ultimate Guide to Chinese Names

Table of Contents [hide]

How are Chinese first names chosen?

Most common first names

Adaptation of English names

Choosing your Chinese name

surnames account for the majority of the population. This homogeneity is

1. 李 (Lǐ) 7.94％ (95,300,000)

2. 王 (Wáng) 7.41％ (88,900,000)

3. 张 (Zhāng) 7.07％ (84,800,000)

4. 刘 (Liú) 5.38％ (64,600,000)

5. 陈 (Chén) 4.53％ (54,400,000)

6. 杨 (Yáng) 3.08％ (37,000,000)

7. 赵 (Zhào) 2.29％ (27,500,000)

8. 黄 (Huáng) 2.23％ (26,800,000)

9. 周 (Zhōu) 2.12％ (25,400,000)

10. 吴 (Wú) 2.05％ (24,600,000)

How are Chinese first names chosen?

A good name is critical to a person’s good fortune. In Chinese philosophy, the

Jīn kè mù, mù kè tǔ, tǔ kè shuǐ, shuǐ kè huǒ, huǒ kè jīn.

Most common first names

First name (female) Pinyin

First name (male) Pinyin

Maiden and married names

In traditional Chinese culture, women retain their original surnames after

In China, women keep their maiden names after marriage.

Nicknames and terms of endearment

阿 (Ā, no distinct meaning)

Example: Our friend 王宇航 (Wáng Yǔháng)

There are no hard rules when it comes to nicknames as they’re naturally

Adaptation of English names

Usually, elementary or middle school English teachers provide English names

The growing influence of Mandarin Chinese

Choosing your Chinese name

Chinese Name Vocabulary

好运 hǎoyùn good luck

算命 suànmìng to tell someone's fortune

五行 wǔháng five elements

Chinese Pinyin English

五行缺 (火) wǔháng quē (huǒ) to lack (fire)

生辰八字 shēngchén bāzì natal chart (based on Chinese calendar)

One-on-One Chinese Lessons

Your Guide to the Year of the Monkey

Understanding the Chinese Zodiac:

The Culture and History of Chinese

The Qing Dynasty: China’s Last

An Introduction to Traditional Chinese

What does China’s version of the world

What Languages are Spoken in China?

Your Guide to the Year of the Ox

The Tang Dynasty: China’s Golden Age

USA (888) 781-8383

Copyright 2021 Terms & Conditions FAQ Learn Chinese in China

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.