First of all, China people put their surnames first and their first names last. Westerners, on the other hand, put their names first and their surnames last. Japanese,
Koreans and Vietnamese, like China people, have their surnames first and their names last. In Europe, only Hungarians have their surnames
first and last, while Japanese surnames are mostly two words, like China people's compound surnames. Such as Tanaka, Uno,
Suzuki, Fukuda, Yoshida and Miyamoto. Sometimes there are three-word surnames, such as "Erjitang". In the formal field, the surname and first name should be written separately. In addition, Japanese names are written in Chinese characters, but the pronunciation is completely different. And
Besides, the same Chinese character is often pronounced differently in different names, so we should pay special attention to it. For example, "Yamamoto" is pronounced
as "Yamamoto Tou" and "Lingben" is pronounced "siziki".
Westerners come first, and their surnames come last. Britain, the United States, France, Spain and Arabs are all like this. Russian
people usually put their first names before their surnames, but sometimes they put their surnames first, especially in official documents.
people in some countries have long names, which are divided into three or four sections. Names of British and American people, the first section is my proper < P > name (Christian name), the last section is my surname, the middle section is my mother's surname or the name of a close family member, and some are the names of respected friends or celebrities. For example, john stuart Smith
is named Smith and John. The second section of the Russian name is the father's name, Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov. That is, Ivanov, Ivan, and Ivanovich as the father < P >, the second section of the Arab name is the father's name, and the third is the grandfather's name. For example, Faisal ibn Abdul Rahmamal Saud, the former king of Saudi Arabia, was named Faisal, while Abdullah Aziz was his father's name and Abdullah Rahman was his grandfather's name. It can be seen from the above
that for people in these countries, the most important thing is to remember my name in the first section and my surname in the last section, and to address them at ordinary times, and the rest in the middle can be omitted.
Spanish names are arranged slightly differently. His father's surname is in the penultimate section, and the last section is his mother's surname.
when abbreviated, use my first name in the first section and my father's surname in the penultimate section.
The second difference between western names and China names is about women. After China women get married,
their names remain the same. In the past, some women put their husbands' surnames before their own, but now this habit is gone. In the west, after a woman gets married, she changes her father's surname to her husband's surname and keeps her original name. For example, a girl named
mary jones married Mr. John Smith, so she changed her surname to Smith. She is called Mrs Mary Smith by
. For those who don't know her well, she can also be called Mrs. John Smith.
However, there are exceptions for married women not to use their husbands' surnames. In America, actors often use stage names. In order to keep the actors well-known, theater managers don't want them to change their husband's surname, and some even keep their marriage secret. In addition, women writers often use pen names, but seldom use their husbands' surnames.
The third difference between the names of westerners and China people is that China people try not to attach importance to the names of the younger generation and the names of the older generation
. In Britain and America, the names of fathers and sons or grandparents are sometimes exactly the same. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
his father's name is Randolph, and one of his sons is Randolph, with the same name for his grandparents and grandchildren. Franklin Roosevelt, the former president of the United States, whose son was also named franklin roosevelt. Rockefeller, the oil magnate, also gave his son the same name as himself. In order to distinguish clearly, people have to use the word "junior" (after English name) when addressing their sons, that is, Roosevelt Jr. and Rockefeller Jr. Some people in the west like to name
after outstanding people in history. In America, many people name their children Washington, Lincoln, Franklin, Roosevelt and so on.
There is another thing that should be mentioned about the surname of westerners. People in China have surnames for a long time, and they regard surnames as the most important symbol of blood relationship and tradition. Living in a family name, building a ancestral hall and a family temple. However,
ancient English people were only famous and had no surnames. From the 1th century, that is, equivalent to the end of the Tang Dynasty in China, only some nobles took fiefs as their surnames. In the future, other nobles and ordinary people also imitated them and chose their surnames < P >. From the 11th century to the 16th century, during the Renaissance, Christianity required the registration of surnames, and surnames were widely used. In this way, it took about 5 years before and after, and all British people had surnames.
in Britain, the most common surname is occupation. For example, blacksmiths in ancient times made and repaired furniture for residents, and traded nails for horseshoes, which was an indispensable industry. Thus, Smith became the surname of this
family. Others such as Taylor (Tailor), Cooper (barrel maker), Barber (barber), Baker (baker), Carpenter (carpenter), Clark (clerk or clerk) and Cook (cook) are all formed in this way.
There are also some surnames, which used to be the father's name. Add a word "son", which means someone's "son
son", and they will become the surnames of the descendants of this family. For example, the descendants of Thomas are named p>(Thomason < P >, or Thomson; Jack's descendant's surname is Jackson. Will has a descendant's surname Wilson; William's later generation
Williamson, etc.