What is a Chinese first name?

Chinese given names (Chinese: 名; pinyin: míng) are the given names adopted by speakers of the Chinese language, both in majority-Sinophone countries and among the Chinese diaspora.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org

What is Chinese first name and last name?

Chinese naming conventions arrange names as follows: [FAMILY NAME] [given name]. For example, ZHANG Chen (male) and WANG Xiu (female). The family name (or 'surname') is inherited from one's parents and shared with other members of the individual's immediate family .

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on culturalatlas.sbs.com.au

Is Man a Chinese first name?

Man is a common last name found among Overseas Chinese communities around the world. In fact, "Man" is the transliteration of several different Chinese surnames. Its meaning varies depending on how it is spelled in Chinese, and which dialect it is pronounced in.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on mychinaroots.com

Do Chinese use first names?

The use of the first name in Chinese culture comes down to intimacy and familiarity. As such, only family and very close friends would address him as 'Wei'. Addressing Mr Chen as Mr Wei would be overly presumptuous on your part and indicate a poor understanding of Chinese naming culture.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on commisceo-global.com

Is Zhang a first name or last name?

Zhang is the pinyin romanization of the very common Chinese surname written 张 in simplified characters and 張 in traditional characters. It is spoken in the first tone: Zhāng. It is a surname that exists in many languages and cultures, corresponding to the surname 'Archer' in English for example.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org

CHINESE NAMES: Everything You Need to Know

21 related questions found

Is Xiao a first or last name?

Xiao is a common last name found among Overseas Chinese communities around the world. In fact, "Xiao" is the transliteration of several different Chinese surnames.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on mychinaroots.com

Is Zhao a first or last name?

Zhao (/dʒaʊ/; traditional Chinese: 趙; simplified Chinese: 赵; pinyin: Zhào; Wade–Giles: Chao⁴) is a Chinese-language surname. The name is first in the Hundred Family Surnames – the traditional list of all Chinese surnames – because it was the emperor's surname of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) when the list was compiled.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org

Is Chinese surname first or last?

Chinese names are different from Western names. They start with the family name followed by the given name. The family name usually has one syllable. All the top 100 Chinese family names have only one syllable and these surnames cover about 85 percent of mainly China's citizens.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on asiamediacentre.org.nz

Are Chinese names unisex?

Many Chinese names are gender-neutral, but certain names are more commonly given to boys than girls. Here are the most common Chinese male names: Qiang: Meaning “strong” or “better”. Tao: Meaning “large wave” or “peach”.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on peanut-app.io

Why do Chinese have 3 names?

It's a long-established tradition

Until the mid-1900s in China, a person usually had three names besides his or her surname: ming, zi and hao. Ming is the name given by parents; Zi is the name granted to a person at the beginning of adulthood – men usually at the age of 20 and women at 15.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theculturetrip.com

Why do Chinese people have 2 first names?

Traditionally, Chinese given names are structured by a two-character pattern. The first part is the generation name that is shared by all members of a generation, and the last character is given to the individual person. The reason Chinese people write their surname first is to show respect to the ancestors.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on blog.myheritage.com

How do I choose a Chinese first name?

If you are studying Cantonese or Mandarin and planning on creating a Chinese name, here's a few tips.
  1. Be clear what you are aiming for. ...
  2. Choose your surname first. ...
  3. Keep it short. ...
  4. Ask for help. ...
  5. Don't name yourself after a celebrity. ...
  6. Test several names. ...
  7. Share your name with your family. ...
  8. Read more stories.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theguardian.com

Is Xi a first or last name?

Xi is a common last name found among Overseas Chinese communities around the world. In fact, "Xi" is the transliteration of several different Chinese surnames. Its meaning varies depending on how it is spelled in Chinese, and which dialect it is pronounced in.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on mychinaroots.com

Is the first name the surname?

Surname is the family name or the last name of a person, whereas first name is the unique name given to a person at birth, also referred to as his Christian name. Surname is passed down generations, whereas first names are unique depending upon physical attributes or circumstances at birth of a kid.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on differencebetween.com

Is Xiao a girl name?

Xiao is a gender-neutral name of Chinese origin and has several meanings, but the most notable translations are “dawn”, “little”, and “reverent of the elderly.” Xiao's connotation with the morning will make natural early-risers fall in love with this precious moniker.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thebump.com

Is Kai a Chinese name?

Kai is a common last name found among Overseas Chinese communities around the world. In fact, "Kai" is the transliteration of several different Chinese surnames. Its meaning varies depending on how it is spelled in Chinese, and which dialect it is pronounced in.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on mychinaroots.com

Do all Chinese have an English name?

Many people have a Chinese name and an English name. This is a common custom in China but not as common in other Asian countries like Japan and Korea. Historically, there are many reasons why people in China also have an English name.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on goeastmandarin.com

What is the first name on a Chinese passport?

The word before the comma "," is the last name and the one after is the first name. For Chinese, last name usually has 1 word like "Li", “Wang”, “Zhang” and etc, while the first name(s) can be two words, like "Meimei", "JIanguo" and etc.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on youliconsulting.com

What is the most common Chinese first name?

Zhāng Wěi 张伟, Wáng Wěi 王伟, and Lǐ Nà 李娜 are the three most common full names.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thechinaproject.com

Is Li a Chinese last name?

Li or Lee ([lì]; Chinese: 李; pinyin: Lǐ) is a common Chinese surname, it is the 4th name listed in the famous Hundred Family Surnames. Li is one of the most common surnames in Asia, shared by 92.76 million people in China, and more than 100 million in Asia.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org

Is Xin a first name?

Xin (Wade–Giles: Hsin) is the romanization of several Chinese surnames including Xīn 辛, Xīn 新 and Xìn 信, etc. Xīn 辛 is the most common one among these names, it is 379th surname in Hundred Family Surnames.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org

Is Xiang a first name?

The name Xiang is Chinese and means 'soars above others', 'lucky' or 'fragrant'. The name also comes from the name of the Xiang River in southern China. It can be both a girls and a boys name.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on bounty.com

Is Tran a Chinese last name?

Tran is a last name commonly found in United States among its Chinese community. It is the transliteration of a Chinese surname meaning: Chen (c.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on mychinaroots.com

Is Xiao a first name in China?

Xiao is a unisex Chinese name and has many meanings including 'dawn, morning', 'little' or 'respectful, reverent'. It can also be used in with a person's last name to call younger generation eg with a surname Chan, anyone that is older will call the younger person Xiao Chan.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on bounty.com

Why is Xiao called Xiao?

Xiao was merely a moniker granted to him after he was rescued by a god. His other more formal name for his Yaksha designation is Alatus.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on gamerant.com