Choosing a Chinese Name

Have you joined a Chinese group where you live? Its often appropriate and fun to refer to ones by their new Chinese name. Have you decided what name you would like? Its often more complicated than choosing an English name or just a random selection.

When someone selects an English name, usually the historical meaning and sound to match the other parts of their name, and the masculine or feminine reference is the main importance. What are some important factors when selecting a Chinese name? The meaning of the character used, radicals in the character and the masculine or feminine of the name. Even the look and shape of the character is important. Having characters that appear aesthetically beautiful and with a more square-based shape is considered. Some Chinese are very superstitious so date of birth, Chinese lunar year animal and other things will affect their selections.

Given the thousands of characters available to choose from, and the combinations of two or three character names, you can make it unique and personal. This is especially helpful to avoid name conflicts with someone else in your group especially if there is a question and answer session. So what will help you to decide your Chinese name?

Perhaps you could ask friends to help give you suggestions or maybe give you some insight on your final selections. There are some great resources on the web that lists English Names and a good translated Chinese name found here:

Chinese Name Translation - Generate Chinese Name based on your English name
Name Translation in Chinese - List of Girls and Boys Chinese names with English Index
Common Chinese Names and English meaning
General Information on Chinese Names at Wikipedia

If you find it challenging to select a name, don’t be dismayed, as even native Chinese speaking people consult experts to help them when selecting an appropriate name for their children.

Enjoy the Challenge to find your unique name. If you are just using the name in your Chinese group, don’t worry too much at the start if you are unsure about it. You can always change your name. Once you have settled on your final name, you can then purchase a Chinese wooden or jade stamp block and start to stamp your books with your name in Characters. Also learning how to write your name with a pen is an important first step once your name is selected.