CHINESE NAMES

NOTES

I should say Mandarin names.  I don't actually know much about other forms of Chinese.  For this reason I 
should give...

An introduction to Chinese and Chinese names

Chinese is not a language.  It is rather a language family, perhaps something like the idea of 'Germanic' or 
'Latinate'.  The languages of Chinese include Mandarin, Wu, Min, Kejia, Yue, Huizhou, Xiang and Gan (to 
give their Mandarin names).  Kejia is also known as Hakka, Min is also called Hokkien, and Yue is 
commonly known as Cantonese.  

These languages are related in that they use basically the same system of writing (characters) and that they 
derive basically from a similar linguistic source.  However, their pronunciations and grammars are mutually 
exclusive, and usually mutually incomprehensible.  The situation is much like that of German and English, 
where a native English speaker can read German words most of the time, but will have a hard time putting 
them together to understand a full sentence, and will probably not know very well how to pronounce the 
words (unless she or he has studied German, of course).

I know only Mandarin with any degree of usefulness, and what I will present here is only Mandarin.  The 
pronunciations of the names I will give here in Cantonese, Hokkien, etc. names are mysteries to me.

However, names do generally maintain the same structure in the different Chinese languages, and therefore, 
while the pronunciations may be different, the ways of using the names and frequency of use will be 
basically the same.  This is much like German has the name "Gerhard" where English has the name 
"Gerard" or whatever.  

A note on transcription

Transcription of Chinese into Latin letters is and has always been a very tricky issue.  Chinese does not have 
a native alphabet as such; even historically, trying to establish the pronunciation of Chinese words in (for 
example) native-language dictionaries has been a difficult task.  To make matters worse, Chinese languages 
often have sounds which do not have easy equivalents in European languages.  Also, Chinese languages are 
all tone-based, the transcription of which has always proven a headache for those who operate at the 
interface.

Nonetheless, there are systems to transliterate Chinese.  The system I use to transliterate Mandarin is called 
Pinyin (full name, Hanyu Pinyin).  This is the official transliteration system of the PRC.  The ROC on 
Taiwan has no really thorough-going transliteration system.  Many things in the ROC are done in a slipshod 
manner, and transliteration is one of the worst offenses.  Most of the world uses Pinyin, and I predict that it 
will become the standard throughout the world and throughout space by 2300.  Some examples of Pinyin (as 
opposed to other systems) are Beijing, Daoism and Mao Zedong.  

I will not note tones here, as there isn't a very natural way to do it, but I will be glad to provide tones on 
request.  Please do not try saying these names to Chinese people without a disclaimer first!  Words in any 
Chinese language are often identical save for differences in tone.  Thus, we get the famous Mandarin 
sentence 'mama ma ma ma man' (to give it without tone diacritics), or "Mom curses the hemp horse for 
being slow".  There are hordes of other examples, such as two different ways to say 'zonghui' which could 
either mean "a social club" or "grey-brown".

A side note: the transliterations (if that's what they are) used in 2300 AD are also quite slipshod.  I suppose 
it's quite natural to expect some editorial blunders, but I find the tendency of Westerners to lump all 
problems with Chinese into a basket labeled 'I don't need to understand this' reprehensible, and I think the 
lack of care with which Westerners treat Chinese transliteration is an unfortunate part of the vicious circle 
which causes Chinese relations with most Western countries to be as hostile as they are.  Therefore, I ask 
that you please treat these names with care and respect.

A note on pronunciation

Pinyin is generally pronounced pretty similar to English, though there are a few small significant 
differences.  The following are some basics, stolen from my /Lonely Planet/ guide to Taiwan.

Vowels
a	as the 'a' in "father" - note this - It's not like in "bang"!  "Chang" does not rhyme with "bang," but 
rather with "bong."
ai	as the 'i' in "I" or "die"
ao	as the 'ow' in "cow"
e	as the 'ur' in "blur" (British pronuniciation) or the 'u' in "but" 
ei	as the 'ay' in "way" or the 'ei' in "weigh"
i	as the 'ee' in "meet"
	BUT after c, ch, r, s, sh, z or zh it sounds like the 'er' in "her" (British pronunciation)
	or the 'o' in "woman" (American pronunciation)
ian 	as the "yen"
ie	as the 'ye' in "yet"
iu	as the 'io' in "O solo mio"
o	as the 'o' in "or"
ou	as the 'oa' in "boat" or 'oe' in "Joe"
u	as the 'u' in "flute" (American pronunciation) or 'oo' in "woo" (British)
	BUT after q, j, x and y, as a German umlauted u
ü	As in the German umlauted u
ue 	is difficult, as it doesn't have a very good equivalent in English.  It's basically an umlauted u followed by an "e" sound, 
     as in "wet."  Pronouncing this is one of the hardest things for students of Mandarin.
ui	as "way"
uo	as "war" (British pronunciation)

Then there's the consonants... These are generally similar to English, save for a few exceptions:

c	as the 'ts' in "bits" or the Russian "tsar"
ch	as in English, but with the tongue curled back
j	as the 'j' in "Joe" - a hard J, NOT as Dan Rather pronounces it!
h	a gutteral, as in the Scottish "loch"
q	basically like ch, but with the tongue further forward than in English
r	as the 's' in "pleasure"
sh	as in English, but with the tongue curled back
x	basically like sh, but with the tongue further forward than in English
z	as the 'ds' in "suds"
zh	as the 'j' in "judge" but with the tongue curled back

Therefore, a fonetik spelin of "Qingdao" might be 'Ching dow'.  Beijing could be spelled Bay jeeng.  I 
won't go on with these spellings, though; they hurt my eyes.

So, then, on to...

THE NAMES 

Names For People

Mandarin personal names do in fact differ a bit between, for example, Taiwan and Beijing.  Beijing names 
tend to have single-character personal names, and different last names are common in Taiwan than in 
Beijing.  However, I'm going to lump them all together as I think the trends are mostly transitory, especially 
if Taiwan ever gets linked to the Mainland again.

Surnames

Note, of course, that Mandarin (and Chinese) surnames always go first.  Chinese surnames, like English 
ones, have meaning, but few people pay attention to them or even truly understand what the meaning has to 
do with the actual name.

I have noted, where appropriate, interesting things about each name.  I have also tried to list a number which 
allows for easy dice-rolling; some of the names are not as common as others, but were included to round out 
the list.




Very Common:



1.	Cai
2.	Chen
3.	Gao
4.	Huang
5.	Li
6.	Lin
7.	Liu
8.	Ma
9.	Wang
10.	Wu
11.	Yang
12.	Zhang



Less common:



1.	Cao
2.	Cui
3.	Deng
4.	Ding
5.	Fan
6.	Guo
7.	Hu
8.	Jiang
9.	Jin [this is actually the Korean name Kim 
in the Chinese reading]
10.	Ke
11.	Kong [Note: this is Confucius' surname]
12.	Lan
13.	Lei
14.	Lian
15.	Liang
16.	Lu
17.	Lü
18.	Luo
19.	Mao [This is Mao Zadong's surname]
20.	Mo
21.	Ni [this is my Chinese surname, and also 
the surname of Taiwan's only famous SF 
author]
22.	Ouyang [one of the few bisyllabic Chinese 
surnames]
23.	Qi
24.	Qin
25.	Qiu
26.	Peng
27.	She
28.	Shen
29.	Shu
30.	Sima [one of the few bisyllabic Chinese 
surnames]
31.	Song
32.	Tan
33.	Tang
34.	Tao
35.	Tu
36.	Wei
37.	Wen
38.	Weng
39.	Xia
40.	Xiao
41.	Xu
42.	Yao
43.	Yi
44.	Yin
45. Yu
46. Zeng
46. Zhao
47.	Zheng
48.	Zhou
49.	Zhu
50.	Zou



There are many more (the famous "Hundred Surnames," synonymous in Chinese with "the hoi-polloi"), but 
these should be sufficient.


Personal Names

Chinese personal names are rather different from their English equivalents.  In English, every name has a 
meaning, but its meaning is likely rather obscure, and is also likely to be a single noun (as my name, Rachel, 
means 'lamb' in Herbrew).  In Mandarin (and other forms of Chinese) however, the meanings of names are 
readily apparent, and are also frequently verb phrases or at least adjective-noun phrases. Thus, a typical 
Chinese name might be "Pride of the Country," "Respects the Ancestors" or "Elegant Lotus" in translation.

Note that Chinese names often sound ridiculous when translated into English.  Trust me, our names sound 
stupid when translated into Chinese as well.

Mandarin personal names are usually very rigidly either masculine or feminine.  However, as some names 
can be androgynous, I will list all the names together with their meanings, which should suggest their 
general genders.

I will give only actual combinations here, as there is a danger that someone playing around with a group of 
possibilities could come up with something which would sound horrendous to Chinese ears and would 
therefore not occur in reality.  Do however note that the number of combinations possible is pretty much 
limitless, though in practice only certain names are common.

As with the surnames, above, I have made notes here as appropriate, and have also tried to include a number 
which allows for easy random generation if needed.




1.	An - "Peace" 
2.	An'guo - "Pacifies the country," "Peaceful 
country"
3.	Anling - "Placid jade"
4.	Anming - "Peaceful clarity"
5.	Bang - "The Nation"
6.	Baojia - "Protects the family"
7.	Baozhen - "Treasure"
8.	Baozong - "Treasures the ancestors"
9.	Bihai - "Jade sea"
10.	Biming - "The clarity of jade"
11.	Bohao - "Cypress hero"
12.	Cai - "Fortune"
13.	Cheng - "Accomplished"
14.	Chenghao - "Honest greatness"
15.	Chengde - "Perfect virtue"
16.	Chongde - "Worships virtue"
17.	Chongxuan - "Worships loftiness"
18.	Dawei - "Greatly accomplished"
19.	Dazhong - "The great median"
20.	Dehua - "Virtuous China" (Note: this is 
Andy Lau's Mandarin personal name)
21.	Desheng - "Virtuous victory"
22.	Dewu - "Virtuous martiality"
23.	Enlai - "Favor comes" [Note: this is Zhou 
Enlai's personal name]
24.	Fang - "Pleasant"
25.	Gongming - "Clear accomplishment"
26.	Guolong - "Dragon of the nation"
27.	Guonan - "Man of the country"
28.	Guoxiong - "Hero of the nation"
29.	He - "Peaceful"
30.	Heming - "Peaceful clarity"
31.	Hongren - "Great humaneness"
32.	Huifen - "Wise, sweet smell"
33.	Huifeng - "Wise phoenix"
34.	Huiling - "Intelligent jade"
35.	Jianmin - "Establishes the people"
36.	Jiawen - "Pleasant clouds" [Note: this is 
my Chinese name]
37.	Jide - "Auspicious virtue"
38.	Jingde - "Respects virtue"
39.	Jingyu - "Quiet jade"
40.	Juan - "Graceful"
41.	Junde - "Handsome virtue"
42.	Junren - "Handsome humaneness"
43.	Kaili - "Triumphant strength"
44.	Kaiping - "Begins peace"
45.	Kanghua - "Robust China"
46.	Kuo - "Vast"
47.	Li - depending on the character, either 
"Beautiful" or "Strong"
48.	Lide - "Establishes virtue"
49.	Lifang - "Beautiful virtue"
50.	Liling - "Beautiful jade" [Note: there are 
many ways to say this same meaning in 
Mandarin]
51.	Liren - "Beautiful humaneness"
52.	Lizhen - "Beautiful chastity"
53.	Lizhen - "Beautiful treasure"
54.	Meifeng - "Beautiful phoenix"
55.	Meilun - "Beautiful relationships"
56.	Meique - "Beautiful sparrow"
57.	Meizhi - "Beautiful iris"
58.	Meizhu - "Beautiful pearl"
59.	Minde - "Sensitive virtue"
60.	Minglong - "Bright dragon"
61.	Mingsheng - "Clear victory"
62.	Mingxiong - "Clear hero"
63.	Mingzhen - "Shining pearl"
64.	Mingzong - "Bright ancestors"
65.	Peide - "Cultivates virtue" [Note: Often 
seems to be used for people whose English 
names are Mike, for some reason, the most 
famous example being Michael Zhang (aka 
"Chang")]
66.	Peng - "Roc (a great mythical bird)" 
[Note: this is Li Peng's personal name]
67.	Qiangwei - "Rose"
68.	Qing - "Clarity"
69.	Qingde - "Celebrates virtue"
70.	Qingguo - "Celebrates the nation"
71.	Qingren - "Celebrates humaneness"
72.	Qingrui - "Clear and auspicious"
73.	Qiulian - "Autumn lotus"
74.	Renlun - "Humane relationships"
75.	Ronghuang - "Proud and sparkling"
76.	Ruiqi - "Auspicious jade"
77.	Shihao - "Hero of the world"
78.	Shilong - "Dragon of the world"
79.	Shouren - "Protects humaneness"
80.	Shujuan - "Ladylike grace"
81.	Shuzhen - "Ladylike treasure"
82.	Tianyi - "A gift from heaven"
83.	Ting - "Ladylike"
84.	Wancheng - "All-accomplishing"
85.	Wanying - "Graceful jade"
86.	Wei - "Full of presence"
87.	Weide - "Great virtue"
88.	Weiguo - "Defends the nation"
89.	Weimin - "Great People"
90.	Wenlong - "Literate dragon"
91.	Wenhui - "Literate wisdom"
92.	Wenxiong - "Literate hero"
93.	Wu - "Martial"
94.	Wulong - "Martial dragon"
95.	Wuxiong - "Martial hero"
96.	Xiang - "Fragrant"
97.	Xianghe - "Auspicious peace"
98.	Xiangling - "Auspicious plume"
99.	Xiao - "Filially pious"
100.	Xiaolong - "Little dragon" [Note: this is 
Bruce Lee's personal name]
101.	Xiaoping - "Little peace"  [Note: this is 
Deng Xiaoping's personal name]
102.	Xiaozhi - "Filial wisdom"
103.	Xiaozong - "Filial to the ancestors"
104.	Xin - depending on the character, either 
"New" or "Prosperous"
105.	Xinghua - "Arising China"
106.	Xiuhua - "Elegant China"
107.	Xiulan - "Elegant orchid"
108.	Xuan - "Mysterious"
109.	Xuande - "Profound virtue"
110.	Yating - "Cultured femininity"
111.	Yazhen - "Cultured treasure"
112.	Ying - depending on the character, either 
"Eagle," "Jade" or "Victorious"
113.	Yousheng - "Protects life"
114.	Yuhui - "Intelligence of jade"
115.	Yun - "Clouds"
116.	Yuting - "Femininity of jade"
117.	Zedong - "Lustrous East" [Note: this is 
Mao Zedong's personal name]
118.	Zemin - "Favor of the Masses" [Note: this 
is Jiang Zemin's personal name]
119.	Zhengde - "Upright virtue"
120.	Zongxian - "Wisdom of the ancestors"





Well, that's about it.  Of course, there are many more names that can be used, and of course there are always 
alternate pronunciations of the above (for different kinds of Chinese, for example).

Please give me any feedback you may have at rachelk6@hotmail.com, or through my personal account (the 
address of which I prefer not to put up on the Web so as to avoid spam).  

-- Rachel Kronick
<http://www.geocities.com/jiawen6>