There are always a few people named Li Na and Liu Wei around us, as well as a few children named Haoran and Zixuan, so why do they have the same name? What kind of naming rules do Chinese people have?
Changes in commonly used words in Chinese names
In 1984, the Chinese Character Reform Commission announced the top 10 "super commonly used words" in names: Ying, Hua, Jade, Xiu, Ming, Zhen, Wen, Fang, Lan, Guo.
Now that 30 years have passed, the characteristics of Chinese people’s naming have undergone great changes. According to the “China’s First Name Report” jointly sponsored by Tsinghua University’s big data industry, in 2016, the names of boys and girls were The top three on the baby hot list are: Haoran, Zixuan, Haoxuan; Zixuan, Zihan, and Shihan. Specifically, the top ten most popular first and last characters for male and female babies in 2016 are: male baby's first characters: Zi, Zi, Hao, Yi, Yu, Hao, Jun, Rui, Hao, Bo, and last characters: Xuan, Yu, Ze, Hao, Chen, Rui, Hang, Yang, Ming, Chen; the first character of Nvbao is: Zi, Yu, Ruo, poetry, thinking, language, Xin, Yi, Ke, Meng; the last character is: Han, Xuan, Yi, Tong, Qi, Xin, Yan, Nuo, Xin, Tong.
In comparison, when Chinese parents named their children 30 years ago, they paid more attention to the country, achievements, and beauty, but now parents pay more attention to personal cultivation and virtue when naming their children. In addition, the current popular Internet naming and the influence of TV series are also the reasons why many people now have the same name.
More than tens of thousands of people have “crash” names
As of now, the top three Chinese people with the same names are Zhang Wei, Wang Wei and Wang Fang. Among them, "Wang Wei" has the same name for nearly 300,000 people.
Data source: Central People's Broadcasting Station website, indirectly quoted from the Labor News, Naming Tong
In addition, when choosing multiple names, you must also consider the meaning of homophonic meanings. Bad homophonic meanings are It will be particularly uncomfortable to shout (after all, it will last a lifetime), but good homophony will give people a beautiful experience. In ancient times, people still attached great importance to homophony in naming, such as Pan Feng, Yunsong, etc.
The following are some names with inappropriate homophones in circulation, for reference only: Shi Zhenxiang, Fan Jian, Fan Tong, Zhu Yiqun, Qin Shousheng, Pang Guangda, Du Qiyan, Shen Jingbing, Zhu Changfen, Huang Shulang, Ma Zhe, Du Ziteng, Xia Liu, Wu Gong, Luo Ti, Luo Li, Fang Fang, Xia Ke, Wei Shengsu, Wu Renai, Yang Dianfeng, Lin Bajie, Lin Qian, Ma Pijing, Song Hefan, Duan Toutai, Shi Yaolai , Zhu Dachang, Fei Jiehe, Mei Wenhua, Mei Xiwang, Niu Tanqin, Hao Qiong, Yao Yan, Hu Lijing, Yang Tuo, Fu Yanjie.
Regional Characteristics
In coastal areas, choose the word "sea" when naming, such as Chen Hai, Liu Yang, Ma Donghai; people who live in mountainous areas should choose names The word "mountain" is often used, such as Zhao Taishan, Li Lingshan, Sun Ling, and Ma Lan.
In many rural areas in the north, they like to use antonyms to give their children nicknames, such as ugly, lai, silly, silly, etc., such as smelly, stupid, stupid baby. Such naming does not mean that the child is really stupid or foolish, but a sign of doting.
Among the previous generation of Cantonese, many people used the words "Buddha", "Niang" and "Ma" in their names. The main reason was that there were many nearby Buddha temples, Mazu temples, etc., so people wanted to pray for peace and prosperity. , and put these words in the names of their children.
Characteristics of the sense of the times
After the founding of New China, the characteristics of people’s names have also changed several times. < /p>
In the 1960s and 1970s, due to the influence of the Great Leap Forward, the People’s Communes, the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, and the Cultural Revolution, many people named themselves Weihong, Red Soldier, Revolution, Aid Korea, Baoguo, Leap Forward, and Chaomei etc.;
After the 1980s, with the gradual advancement of reform and opening up, the number of words used by parents to express grandeur such as Wei, Bo, Yu, Wei and Hao gradually increased in the naming process, which also reflects the Positive and high-spirited momentum and hopeful confidence under the background of the era of reform and opening up.
With the rise of the Internet since the 1990s, influenced by many novels and TV series, as well as the recommendations of naming software, a large number of words with more profound meanings have appeared. However, due to the transitivity of the Internet, it is also very difficult to It is easy for "hot" names to appear, such as Haoran, Zixuan, etc.
China has a long history. In fact, the characteristics of the times in naming are not new to today.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, etiquette collapsed, music was broken, and wars were turbulent. In this era, it was mostly fashionable to use nicknames. Such as evil, disease, etc. In modern times, internal and external troubles have led to the loss of power and humiliation of the country. Facing the disaster of the country being invaded, many people named their children Qianghua, Juemin, Jiuguo, etc., such as Lin Juemin, one of the "Seventy-two Martyrs of Huanghuagang".
Should the name be one word or two?
In history, whether to use one character or two characters for a name actually has a certain meaning. There is a saying in "Gongyang Zhuan": "To ridicule two names. Two names is also disrespectful." Similar statements also appeared in "Zuo Li". Wang Mang had an important influence on the wording of names. It is recorded in the "Book of Han" that Wang Mang banned the use of two-character names, and also gave two-character names to his rebellious ministers to express the emperor's love and hatred. After the Xiongnu Chanyu surrendered, as a reward, one of his two-character names was removed. This is the record in the "Hanshu Wang Mang Biography" that "the Xiongnu Chanyu, Shun made, removed the two characters". Wang Mang politicized naming and included it in the law, which made single-character names popular from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms and Jin Dynasties, such as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang (Zhuge is a two-character surname, and the given name is one word) etc. Single-character names have become symbols of political correctness at certain times in history.
Wang Mang (45 BC - 23 AD)/Picture source: Baidu Encyclopedia
In addition, the ancients were also very particular about avoiding taboos in naming, such as Qin Shihuang's famous politics, so in his calendar The "first month" of the Han Dynasty was called "Duan Yue"; during the period of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, scholars were called Maocai; the grandfather of Tang Emperor Li Yuan was called Li Hu, so Hulao Pass was changed to Wulao Pass.
For now, there is no good or bad distinction between using one character or two characters for a name.
In short, the naming of Chinese people always has distinctive characteristics of the times. If you have any stories about the names of people around you, you are welcome to share them with everyone and leave a message at the end of the article.
Reference materials: "China's first name report"; Beijing Morning Post: "China's first name report is released. See how many people have the same name as yours"; Wang Quangen. The regions where Chinese people use names Features[J]. Shanxi Elderly, 2013(6):50-50.
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