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Help[Facts] Is there anyone who wants to discuss about Chinese names?
I was born in Hong Kong (it’s in China in case you don’t know) and have been there since then. It seems that it’s difficult to give names using a language you are not familiar in, which I somehow faced this problem which English names, that they are from my second language. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me! However, it can be very different among regions where people speak Chinese, so just take it as a reference!
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I find some most popular names in China (2019)
M top 10:
Zirui 梓睿
Junyu 俊宇
Haoran 浩然
Yuxuan 宇轩
Zixuan梓轩
Ziyang 梓洋
Zihao 梓豪
Zihao 子豪
Ziheng 梓恒
Junjie 俊杰
F top 10:
Ziqing 梓晴
Zhiqing 芷晴
Siying 思颖
Siyu 思妤
Yutong 雨桐
Siyan 思妍
Xiaotong 晓彤
Xinyue 心悦
Xiaoqing 晓晴
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Emmmm…Lots of SAME SPELL.These names have been some popular internet phrases…Too common.
M top 10:
Zirui 梓睿
Junyu 俊宇
Haoran 浩然
Yuxuan 宇轩
Zixuan梓轩
Ziyang 梓洋
Zihao 梓豪
Zihao 子豪
Ziheng 梓恒
Junjie 俊杰
F top 10:
Ziqing 梓晴
Zhiqing 芷晴
Siying 思颖
Siyu 思妤
Yutong 雨桐
Siyan 思妍
Xiaotong 晓彤
Xinyue 心悦
Xiaoqing 晓晴
---------------------------
Emmmm…Lots of SAME SPELL.These names have been some popular internet phrases…Too common.
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Male: those including 國 (country) or 財 (wealth)
Female: those including 芬 or 芳 (both mean fragrant), 梅 (plum), 蘭 (orchid), 菊 (chrysanthemum), and also a bunch of names which suggested the parents want a son but got a daughter, eg 帶弟,招弟,來地 (all roughly means "bring a little brother")
Both: names including 大 (big), 小 (small) and numbers, which 陳小明 is roughly the Chinese equivalent of John Smith
Female: those including 芬 or 芳 (both mean fragrant), 梅 (plum), 蘭 (orchid), 菊 (chrysanthemum), and also a bunch of names which suggested the parents want a son but got a daughter, eg 帶弟,招弟,來地 (all roughly means "bring a little brother")
Both: names including 大 (big), 小 (small) and numbers, which 陳小明 is roughly the Chinese equivalent of John Smith
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Would names from Chinese mythology be unusual for an actual person to use? For instance, Caishen, who was the god of wealth, sounds like a neat name for a character, but would it seems out of place on a regular person?
The name Xifeng sounds cool to me, but are names from "Dream of the Red Chamber" in use or would it be considered old-fashioned or literary?
The name Xifeng sounds cool to me, but are names from "Dream of the Red Chamber" in use or would it be considered old-fashioned or literary?
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No literary or mythology names would be put in actual use, neither a real person nor a fictional character. In Chinese names, if you find any namesake for your name, it would be like a ban. So many parents would type their drafted name on Google and see is there any results that is about famous people. If yes, discard/change the name. If there is only records (eg: awards he/she got in elementary school) which is obviously a normal people, then you may use it.
Using your example Caishen, it is in fact consisted of two words in Chinese, Cai, which means wealth, and Shen, which means God. It sounds more like a title than a name to me, and it would be extremely strange to call a person "god". However, Cai was a popular word for names (it would be better to describe in this way) when it comes to older people (in Hong Kong) since people are a lot richer from 70s and hoping for wealth in children's names look old-fashioned and uncultured.
Off-topic: Athena was a popular name in Hong Kong in late 2000s, but it was seen more like a hippie name and "would be unacceptable for locals" because of the same reason Caishen is inappropriate.
Using your example Caishen, it is in fact consisted of two words in Chinese, Cai, which means wealth, and Shen, which means God. It sounds more like a title than a name to me, and it would be extremely strange to call a person "god". However, Cai was a popular word for names (it would be better to describe in this way) when it comes to older people (in Hong Kong) since people are a lot richer from 70s and hoping for wealth in children's names look old-fashioned and uncultured.
Off-topic: Athena was a popular name in Hong Kong in late 2000s, but it was seen more like a hippie name and "would be unacceptable for locals" because of the same reason Caishen is inappropriate.
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Thank for your response. The breakdown of Caishen explains why it would be considered over the top.
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