The Formation of Chinese Names

In China，most people’s names have two parts，the family names and the given names.One person may have different names.For example，when they are very young at home，they usually have pet names.In school and society they use their formal names.

If someone is a writer，he or she has a pen name.Most of the names have special meanings.Some show their parents wishes.Girls’names show that their parents want them to be nice.

Chinese Common Used Surnames

There were not many matriarchal tribes in ancient China，in other words，there were not many different xing，therefore only a small number of today’s xing （surnames）were passed down from pure ancient xing.Based on The Spring and Autumn Annals，Gu Yanwu sorted out 22 ancient Surnames；and by studying ancient Chinese documents，Zhang Taiyan and other scholars found another 59 ancient Surnames.

Altogether no more than 81 Surnames.

hancheng

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