Chinese Names
Ok … now that I’ve got such great suggestions for English names for my students, I need some suggestions for a Chinese name for myself! I was given a Chinese name by my language teacher in Changsha, but I’ve found that it is simply confusing people here because it sounds nothing like my English name.
Chinese names, like names in most other cultures, are vastly more important and meaningful than names in America. Each character, or word, has a specific meaning. Many are attached to cultural and historical significances, and many also signify the destiny or hopes for a person’s life. Women usually keep their family (maiden) name when they get married too … but I don’t have to worry about that.
Another interesting tidbit … the family name (last name) is always said first and the given name (first name) is said last. So, for example, Yao is actually the basketball star’s last name and Ming is his first name. Whoops … it looks like we’ve all been misunderstanding Ming Yao’s name incorrectly for a long time now!
So I looked through my Chinese dictionary this morning to try and find words that might be suitable. Here’s what I found (the numbers are actually “tones” … don’t worry about that now):
Family name - Webel
wai4 bu4 - outside
wei2 - small
wei1 - surround
wei4 - taste
wei3 ba - tail
wei2 bo2 - microwaveGiven name - Lance
lan1 - orchid
lan1 - blue
lan1 se4 - blue
lan1 zi - basket
Like I said, the choices aren’t that good … but which do you think is the best combination?
August 31st, 2006 at 10:14 pm EST
Maybe I should just go with lan1 wei3 yan1. That means “appendicitis”.
September 1st, 2006 at 8:04 am EST
not sure i would use “small” to describe “Webel”…
what about “obi wan kenobi”???
September 1st, 2006 at 1:13 pm EST
I suggest you go with one of the dozen or so common family names, otherwise your name is going to sound really ridicoulous to most Chinese. (kinda like when a movie star names their kid “Apple” or something like that)
A good Wang, Li, or Chen will work nicely. The Webels over in YY go by the family name of Wang ( 王 )
Wang means “King” - you could have some fun with that if you wanted. The word for “blue” ( 蓝色 ) in Chinese sounds just like Lance - I’m not sure how that would work as a name though…
I personally think it’s more important to have a ‘normal’ sounding Chinese name than to have a Chinese name that sounds like your English name… However, if you can get BOTH, it’s a bonus!
What does your English name mean? That could help you pick your Chinese name…
September 1st, 2006 at 9:45 pm EST
“outside blue”= wai bu lan= webel land?
September 2nd, 2006 at 9:23 am EST
I will go for Wei4 魏 lan 1 (orchid) 兰 si 1 斯 or lan1(blue) 蓝 si 1 斯. Wei4 is very a common chinese family name and it has been the name of the country for several times. Usually, Chinese family name doesn’t very meaningful; first name carries more information. lan 1 (orchid) si 1 斯 might be the best for Lance but it sounds and writes feminine. lan1(blue) 蓝 si 1 斯 is a little bit better. Anyway, Lance itself sounds feminine in Chinese:).
September 4th, 2006 at 12:08 am EST
Thanks for all of your great suggestions, including your very helpful email, Dana.
I never even thought about that fact that my family already has a family name … so to honor Steve’s famly (who lives in YueYang, Hunan), I will choose the family name Wang (王).
The chosen name was a bit harder. Of all of the suggestions, lan (蓝) both makes the most sense, because (as Kim so kindly pointed out) my eyes are blue, and because I dearly miss seeing blue skies (which I’ve been told is the exact color of 蓝)
So 王蓝 it is!
September 6th, 2006 at 8:29 pm EST
I think lan1 wei2 bo2…
…blue microwave!!!!
September 7th, 2006 at 12:45 pm EST
It was my understanding that some Chinese and other Asians who come to live in the States will actually invert the order of their names to follow the typical “American” pattern of First, Last. Did Yao Ming already do this? Which is more typical of a Chinese family name?
September 7th, 2006 at 6:59 pm EST
Why wouldn’t you change your name to “microwave basket” if you had the chance, I know I would. Or at least “taste orchid”
October 7th, 2006 at 12:03 pm EST
Hereby, I list some widely used Chinese family names which sound like Webel魏，唯，卫，韦，蔚. I will go for 岚，兰，蓝。If 斯，思is attached at hte end, it sounds more like a foreigner’s name translated based on its pronounce
October 7th, 2006 at 1:20 pm EST
Thanks for the suggestions, 超君!
You can see in my comment above that I’ve decided to go with 王蓝 for my Chinese name. 王 is the family name of my cousins in YueYang, so I decided to keep that name.