Click on the chop to learn about Jeanne's Chinese name.

CHOOSING A CHINESE NAME

• First, you need a family name.
  • Go to the Surname Index in Cojak, Ben's awesome Chinese web application.
  • Each character in the Surname Index is a possible family name. They are indexed by the number of strokes used to write the character.
  • Hover over a character you find interesting.
    First it will tell you how the word is pronounced.
    Next there is a number. This tells you how many times this surname was repeated in the lists of names Ben inputed to make this list. The higher the number, therefore, the more common.
    Last, is a brief definition for the character.
  • Click on a character to go to its entry in the dictionary. Most will have an animated image showing you how to write the character. Also there is an extended definition, and pronunciation in different languages, etc. At the bottom of the page is a list of words that include the character.
• Secondly, you need a given name. Given names can be one or two characters, making your full name two or three characters long (surname is always first).
  • Go to either Female Given Names Index, Male Given Names Index or Ambigender Given Names Index
  • A word about gender and names: I strongly recommend that if you chose a character from the ambigender list that you pair it with a name from the female or male page. At first glance the girls' names do look pretty flowery, but dig deeper, there are some non-flowery ones in there, and I think it's worth it to not have every Chinese person say "that's a boy's name!" or "that's a girl's name!" On the other hand, we do have a few students who have a name that the other students all seem to agree is of the wrong gender. And we have a male student and a female student who share the exact same name (family name and all), so it's not unheard of.
• Next, verify your name. By this I mean, send it to me. I will look at it myself and ask friends here what they think. Perhaps best would be to send a few names and I can ask folks here what they think is best. Here's why:
  • Chinese pronunciation is not easy. Some syllables and tones placed next to each other are very difficult to pronounce. People here will pick up on that better than you or me.
  • People here know what is "hao ting" - good sounding. A good Chinese name sounds musical. An unfortunate name selection, however, may end up giving you a bad pun for a name. For example, the name "Hao Yu Geng" may have a great meaning written down, but with a slight change in intonation, you could sound like your name is "good fish chowder." That being said, there are so many puns in Chinese, every name is about an inch away from a good pun!
  • People here know what sounds common and natural. When I was first looking for a name, all my ideas got rejected. They sounded awkward, like boys' names, or old-fashioned. I'm glad I stuck with it until I got this one, because almost always people say they like my name and it sounds "like a real Chinese name." Indeed, I have searched on line and found several girls in China with the same name as me. . . and you can't say that for my English name!
  • On the other hand, like Ben you may prefer a name that sounds like your English name, rather than like a common Chinese name. Ben chose the name 贲喆明. "Ben zhe ming." While all these characters are recognized characters for names, the surname is quite uncommon, and the first character in his given name is only moderately common. When he first tells his name to someone here, he often has to tell them how to pronounce or write it, and sometimes he has to argue strenuously that the first character is indeed a surname. When Ben tells people that his English name is "Benjamin," however, they immediately understand why he has chosen that name.
• Take advantage of the resources I have. For example, I have access to a font that resembles the old-fashioned writing used when making seals. Some characters look drastically different when they are written on a seal. If you want to know what it looks like, ask me. Also, if you want to know what your name sounds like, I'll record a native speaker saying it for you.
• Why should you choose a name now? Because these resources won't be available forever. Also, if you want to have a seal made by a professional carver here, you need to find a name before I leave.
• Lastly, I'll leave you with a few names I've run across that I really like:
  • 金秋: This is one of my students' names. Her surname means "gold/golden" and her given name means "autumn."
  • 岚: This is a character for a girl's given name. The character is a mountain on top of wind. The meaning is "mountain mist."
  • 艺: This character for a girl's given name is cool looking, easy to write, and means "art." It is pronounced like "eee"
  • 林: This character can be a given name or girl's surname. It means "forest" and is pronounced like "lean."
• Note: Pet names are not chosen the same way. Usually the names are one character repeated twice - the equivalent of our putting an "eee" sound at the end of our pets' names. So 毛 毛 "fur fur" is "fluffy." You might, therefore, name a dog 橙 橙.
• Have fun!