The History of Chinese Given Names

Chinese given names are often made up of one or two characters and can contain almost any meaning. Unlike in our culture, it is taboo to name a child after parents, relatives, or historical figures in traditional Chinese culture.


Characteristics:

When elders named a new born baby, they took several factors into full consideration: the astrological principles, the birthdate, the array of five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) told by the fortune-teller, the form, pronunciation, and meaning of name. Now superstition being lessened and constraints reduced, there are still some rules of thumb to be followed: 1. balance between the baby’s birthdate and the five elements in its life, try to remedy the defects with the name;

2. try to avoid the same initial consonant and simple or compound vowel (of a Chinese syllable), and the same tone in the characters is not preferred either;

3. as to the form, a character with not too many strokes nor the same component will be a good choice;

4. the preference for the meaning of a character changes with time.