Understanding Chinese Names
What belongs to you but
others use it more often than you do?
The answer: Your name.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
By Angela Chiu
| Published Dec 2007
An individual’s name is one of
the issues of utmost importance, this is true for every culture.
Yet, many people do not know the origin or even the meaning of their
name. This is especially true for the second generation Asian Americans
(like American Born Chinese - ABCs) or Asian Americans who have
moved to a foreign country when they are very young.
I was talking to one of my superiors
earlier. She is in a fellowship and one Friday she discussed with
3 ABCs a topic of the meaning of their Chinese names. Two out of
the three of them did not know exactly what their names meant.
In regards to the structure
of a Chinese name, the common structure of a Chinese name would
be as follows: The family surname followed by the Banci (Generation
name) followed by a given name.
A Chinese family’s surname usually
comes from or is derived from one of the following origins:
-
From the name xing: These were usually reserved for the central
linage of the royal family. Jiang and Yao are frequently occurring
surnames from this category.
-
From royal decree by the Emperor, such as the last name Kwong
or Wong.
-
From state names: These include Song, Wu, or Chen. These are
some of the most common Chinese surnames.
-
From names of fiefs or places of origin: fiefdoms were popular
in earlier times. These surnames are usually two characters
long.
-
From the names of ancestors: this is a very common origin
with close to 500 or 600 surnames, 200 of these are two characters
long.
-
From seniority within the family: Such as Meng, Zong, Shu,
and Ji.
-
From occupation: These could arise from both official positions.
These include surnames Tao and Wu.
-
From ethnic groups: Some Non-Chinese people in China took
names of their ethnic group. The surname Hu is the best example
of this.
Although there are thousands
of Chinese family names, the 100 most common surnames are shared
by 85% of the population. The three most common surnames in Mainland
China are Li, Wang, and Zhang. Together the number of people with
these as a last name is close to 300 million.
The Generation name (Banci)
is one of the characters in a traditional Chinese name. Children
born in the same generation, (such as siblings) share the same character.
The table below illustrates an
example:
| Unit |
Chinese form |
| Family
name |
Generation
name |
Given
name |
| Father |
Xia |
Zhou |
Jin |
| Father’s sibling |
Xia |
Zhou |
Sui |
| Mother |
Shang |
Qin |
Tang |
| Mother’s sibling |
Shang |
Qin |
Song |
| First child |
Xia |
Han |
Wei |
| Second child |
Xia |
Han |
Shu |
| Third child |
Xia |
Han |
Wu |
Finally, the given name (equivalent
of the Western first name) can consist of any character and contain
almost any meaning. Frequently, some girls will be given names which
reflect feminine characteristics or be named after something that
naturally occurs in nature (with boys, many will be given names
with masculine qualities).With siblings, it is not uncommon for
the children’s names to be related. For example, one child may be
named “sun” while the other one will be named “moon”.
Since I am Chinese, I do not
have a clear understanding for how and why other Asian Americans’
names are structured or what they mean. Asia Trend would appreciate
hearing from other Asian ethnicities on the meanings of their names
or if they have any additional information that they would like
to share.
Angela Chiu
a high school junior. Moved from Taiwan
to Florida when she was 2. One of her
goals is to have a larger role in the Asian-
American community and to inspire other
young Asian-Americans. She can be
reached at angelachiu1243@hotmail.com. |
|
