The Book of Chinese Names: A Guide to Auspicious and Elegant Names

By Goh Kheng Chuan and Goh Kheng Yew

What makes a good Chinese name and how does the name shape destinies and character? How do you ensure that the name is meaningful, elegant and auspicious at the same time?

This book provides all the knowledge you need for devising a good Chinese name for your child.

This book covers:
- Creative Methods For Naming: Number of Strokes Theory, Chinese Horoscope, The Five Elements, The Eight Characters Theory, The Chinese Zodiac Theory, Chinese Idioms, Chinese Symbols and many more.
- Easy Selection of Characters For Naming: Chinese characters and baby names are categorised into specific themes such as Auspicious, Artistic, Moral, Business, Nature, etc. Contains thousands of auspicious and inspiring names.
- Easy Search and Combination of Characters: The English index of meanings provided lets you search and combine characters to form the names you desire.

This is a classic best-seller and an essential guide for parents and anyone who wants to create a Chinese name since it was first published in 1996! It is also a great read for Westerners who wish to know what goes into a Chinese name when studying the beauty of Chinese culture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9789810727819

Book preview

1. The Importance Of Names

is not just relevant but deeply profound.

To the Chinese, a name is more than just a name. It embodies the values, personality, culture and philosophy of the person. A person's name is of such great importance that to some extent, the name is believed to be sacred and it possibly determines his destiny. As a result, the Chinese go through great pains and much thought when naming their children in order to ensure a bright and prosperous future for their offspring. For those who are more superstitious, they even consult fortune tellers and mediums to suggest appropriate names for their newborn.

(Lu Wei), to which incense is offered, and oil lamps lit, for a certain period of time. The Chinese name is not simply a marker of identity, a wish or blessing bestowed upon our children, a link to our past or an aspiration for the future, but also a means by which we are honored and remembered.

Figure 1.1: The Lu Wei, or prosperity seat, with the words The radiance of the Buddha shines upon Chen Da Qing family upon it.

The Origin of Surnames

(Xiong) or bear, as surnames.

(Ying).

The Origin of Clan Names

Are surnames the same as clan names? In the past, they were not. During the time of feudal China, only the nobility held land. Land, along with the authority to govern it, was bestowed upon individuals as a form of reward. The names of these settlements, or fiefdoms, then became the clan names for these noble families.

How Clan Names became Surnames

Through war, migration and change of dynasties, people from different settlements began to live together in the same place. Some families of nobility were even forced to flee and lose their status. For convenience, as well as to differentiate themselves from people from other settlements, many, including commoners, began using clan name as their surnames. Thus, over time, clan names became equivalent to surnames.

How some Surnames Originated

, and over time, their descendants eventually adopted this as their surname.

as their surname in order to commemorate him.

(Li Zi), that saved his life.

Figure 1.2: The exhausted Li Li Zhen chances upon the plum tree.

that they had inherited, while others retained it.

Surnames and Places of Origin

(Jun Wang)

(Qin) Dynasty.

(Jiang Su) province.

, followed by his name. This is because we are able to infer his surname from his prefecture of origin. However,