What's in a Chinese sounding name for an expatriate? More than you think!
American Alexander Bushroe writes his Chinese name Zhu Anlei (朱安磊).
My colleague Zhu Anlei (朱安磊) is considering adopting Xie (谢) as a new surname. Sounds like a "peculiar" practice? Actually, he's not really going to "remove" himself from his family. It's just a new twist on his original name ― Alexander Bushroe. He is from the United States.
Chinese names are structured in a different way from English ones. In Chinese tradition, family names come first, followed by given names that are mostly composed of one or two characters. Take Chairman Mao for example. Mao is his family name, and Zedong is his given name.
Many foreigners don't have a Chinese name that really sounds like Chinese. I've seen so many adoptions of Da Wei (大卫), Nan Xi (南希) and Mai Ke (麦克), just simple transliterations of David, Nancy and Michael. They don't sound like Chinese names, but are merely an additional moniker.
Bushroe was lucky to have a "right" one ― in the sense that his Chinese name has a clear Chinese meaning.
He told me that his Chinese teacher in the US gave him the name Bao Anlei (包安磊) when he was 17 years old, because his family name started with B and Anlei is similar to Alex. Then he changed his Chinese surname to Zhu (朱) because of his then girlfriend. But now he's engaged to a woman surnamed Xie (谢), and he's going to change it again.
"Obviously she doesn't like Zhu. But we are not married yet. I'll change my family name to Xie after we get married," he said in a humorous tone. "Most of my friends think it's a fine enough name. Some foreigners have pretty funny Chinese names, and I didn't want anything like that."
Andy Boreham from New Zealand whose Chinese name is An Boran (安柏然).
Another colleague, Andy Boreham from New Zealand, shares the same view.
His Chinese name An Boran (安柏然) was chosen because it sounds quite similar to the pronunciation of his English name while evoking quite a local feel.
"A Chinese friend helped me choose the name right when I first started studying Mandarin at East China Normal University, and I'm really happy with it," he said. "Everyone always comments on it, telling me it's a really nice sounding name and has a kind of 'cultured' air to it."
So why is it important to get a right Chinese name? An obvious answer is that it makes it easier for a foreigner to assimilate into Chinese communities. Just as Boreham said: "Having a good name can really help you out in your China life. If you have a more native sounding Chinese name, you might just be taken a bit more seriously by colleagues and strangers."
In China – even for Chinese people – the choosing of a name is taken very seriously. So a proper Chinese name reflects some level of esteem toward Chinese culture. It could quickly bring foreigners closer to Chinese people.
Maybe it could explain why many foreign diplomats are choosing a Chinese name that sounds like Chinese – a manifestation of a greater respect for Chinese culture.
"Gone Girl" actress Rosamund Pike shows off her Chinese writing skills. Pike's Chinese name is Pei Chunhua (裴淳华).
For instance, it has become a tradition for French ambassadors to China to take a Chinese name since Claude Martin, or Ma Teng (马腾), held the position from 1990 to 1993. They include Herve Ladsous, or Su He (苏和), Jean-Maurice Ripert, or Li Xiang (黎想), and current ambassador Laurent Bili, or Luo Liang (罗梁).
Some sound similar to their French names, while others have special meaning. It is reported that Ladsous chose He (和) because it literally means peace and harmony.
And there's an alternative explanation for people's enthusiasm to have a Chinese name.
It offers an opportunity to showcase their personalities and express their values because every Chinese word carries a meaning, representing the best wishes from their parents such as mei (美) for beautys, zhi (智) for wisdom and yue (悦) for joy. In this case, Chinese names function like Internet accounts, to some extent.
For example, "Gone Girl" actress Rosamund Pike prefers to be called Pei Chunhua (裴淳华) and the badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen from Denmark is known as An Sailong (安赛龙) while in China.
Viktor Axelsen, aka An Sailong, revealed on Weibo that he keeps learning Chinese despite his busy schedule.
John King Fairbank, an esteemed American historian on China, is even misunderstood by many as a Chinese man as he's more popularly known in China as Fei Zhengqing (费正清).
So how to get a proper Chinese name? It's vital to have a surname.
The most common Chinese surnames are Wang (王), Li (李), Zhang (张), Liu (刘) and Chen (陈), accounting for more than 30 percent of the total population, according to the 2020 names report released by the Ministry of Public Security.
And Ze (泽), Zi (梓), Zi (子), Yu (宇) and Mu (沐) were most commonly used to name newly-born babies in 2021.
Do you have a Chinese name? Would you like to share it with us? Or just ask us for advice!
