56 replies to this topic

[Houyi]

Hi everybody,

My first name is Antonio (Portuguese for Anthony - means "invaluable"). My family name is Guerreiro (means "warrior")

Several years ago I had a Chinese mandarin teacher who gave me the Chinese name 戈安東 (Ge Andong), because I am a martial arts teacher and Ge can be translated as lance, spear, halberd. And, beyond that, Ge sounds like the first syllabe of my family name, and Andong sounds like my first name.

I think Ge Andong (戈安東) sounds better than An Dongni (安東尼), another Chinese name I got from another teacher (based just on the sound of my first name).

I´d like to know if 戈安東 is a good Chinese name (meaning and sound), and if you native Chinese speakers have any other suggestion for a good Chinese name, because I am willing to make a new seal for me with my name on it.

By the way, my girlfriend´s name is Suelen, and I gave her the name Su Ailian (蘇愛蓮), or "the lotus that revives the love". Do you think it´s a good sounding name?

Thanks in advance!

Andongni 安東尼 is the default phonetic translation of your first name, Anthony. It's good enough if you just want to be able to write your name in Hanzi for whatever reason. However, I believe if you are truly interested in Chinese language and/or culture, adopting a "true" Chinese name would be better.

With that said, Ge Andong 戈安東 is a very good name. As an option, you can also use the surname 武 Wǔ which means military-related, martial... etc. For example 武士 Wushi means Warrior, 武術 Wushu means Martial Arts. As far as your given name, 安東 Andong is a very good name, it literally means "Peace East" or "Peaceful East", but it seems a tad strange because it's almost like chopping your original name in 2/3 as it's missing the last syllable. But as of right now I don't have any suggestions. Since "Anthony" means invaluable, which would translate as 無價 Wujia in Chinese, but it seems strange to use as a given name and "Wu Wujia" is a mouthful lol

I like your girlfriend's name.

[Selena]

By the way, my girlfriend´s name is Suelen, and I gave her the name Su Ailian (蘇愛蓮), or "the lotus that revives the love". Do you think it´s a good sounding name?

Thanks in advance!

"蘇愛蓮" It's beautiful . It sounds very elegant and poetic because it refers to the famous prose "愛蓮說". It is also the name of my Chinese teacher (she's proud of her name XD) I wonder, did you purposefully choose that name knowing its implications?

[aguerreiro]

"蘇愛蓮" It's beautiful . It sounds very elegant and poetic because it refers to the famous prose "愛蓮說". It is also the name of my Chinese teacher (she's proud of her name XD) I wonder, did you purposefully choose that name knowing its implications?

Hi Selena,

thank you for the kind words! Yes, I chose that name because of the sound and, mostly, because of its beautiful meaning. I didn´t know that there is a famous prose related with this name. Could you give more info about that?

Hou Yi,
thanks for your input!

[Selena]

thank you for the kind words! Yes, I chose that name because of the sound and, mostly, because of its beautiful meaning. I didn´t know that there is a famous prose related with this name. Could you give more info about that?

You're welcome, I'm glad to help
English translation of the prose: link
So, basically it would compliment your girlfriend as a graceful lady who does not indulge in mortal pursuits.
It sounds completely Chinese to me Hope she likes it
About "戈安東", I agree with Houyi that it sounds foreign, and a bit difficult to pronounce too. But since it is meaningful, that's fine.

My chinese name is 王安逸 (wang anyi). I think it is a great name. A friend give it to me.

I'm just wondering about a name I have gave to my friend.
马世花 (ma shihua) is this name ok? or it is something chinese people would laugh about? 世花 is a translation of my friend's name.
Her name is translated into english world flower.

"王安逸" Yes I agree that it is a good name, too sounds like a great scholar!
About "马世花", I don't think it is a very good name though. Using "flower"(花) in a name is considered poor taste - it is usually what illiterate parents name their daughters. Maybe you could replace it with name of a specific flower.

"朱丽娅":
I agree that it is foreign, but it sounds good and suitable, too
Another thing is that, Juliet is "朱丽叶", so your name may also make people associate you with "Romeo and Juliet".

"蔡丹碧":
It's a great name! It makes me think of a young daughter of an upper-class family, who excels in literature/art/etiquette etc and have great taste.

"金墨":
An unusual name, but sounds very cool

I don't know about the technical details of naming, so just commenting on the "feel" of the name, sorry about that.

[Houyi]

I actually like the name 金墨 Jinmo. It's definitely unusual but to me it sounds like a name of a great artist or poet, like a pen-name if you will.

It reminds me of a slightly older Chinese man with a big beard. A bit like this guy but younger?

[aguerreiro]

Thanks for the link for the prose, Selena!
I´ll tell my girlfriend how meaningful her name is! She will be glad!

I like the sound and meaning of 戈安東, although all 3 syllabes are in first tone. Maybe that´s what makes it sound a bit strange for a Chinese native speaker, I don´t know.
Do you have a better suggestion for me? It doesn´t have to be so poetic like my girfriend´s name!

[Houyi]

I like the sound and meaning of 戈安東, although all 3 syllabes are in first tone. Maybe that´s what makes it sound a bit strange for a Chinese native speaker, I don´t know.
Do you have a better suggestion for me? It doesn´t have to be so poetic like my girfriend´s name!

While I don't find the name to be strange, but if I do, it would only be because AFAIK 戈 is not a real surname, which is why I recommended 武 earlier

[aguerreiro]

While I don't find the name to be strange, but if I do, it would only be because AFAIK 戈 is not a real surname, which is why I recommended 武 earlier

Hi Houyi!

The "Hundred Family Surnames" (百家姓) lists 戈 as one of the common ancient Chinese surnames:
http://en.wikipedia....Family_Surnames

This website also lists it as one family surname:
http://name.netor.com/?id=0&page=8

Maybe nowadays 戈 is not that common anymore.

Anyway, which one do you think sounds more "Chinese"? 戈安東 or 武安東?

[Houyi]

Hi Houyi!

The "Hundred Family Surnames" (百家姓) lists 戈 as one of the common ancient Chinese surnames:
http://en.wikipedia....Family_Surnames

This website also lists it as one family surname:
http://name.netor.com/?id=0&page=8

Maybe nowadays 戈 is not that common anymore.

Anyway, which one do you think sounds more "Chinese"? 戈安東 or 武安東?

You are absolutely right! I was actually searching for 戈 on another list of Chinese surnames on Wikipedia and for some reason my browser didn't find it (user error most likely )

[aguerreiro]

You are absolutely right! I was actually searching for 戈 on another list of Chinese surnames on Wikipedia and for some reason my browser didn't find it (user error most likely )

No problem, Houyi! I´m not a geek too, so I get these "user errors" very often!

So, which name do you think sounds more "Chinese" and less foreigner? 戈安東 or 武安東? I need to pick one to get my seal carved!

[Houyi]

No problem, Houyi! I´m not a geek too, so I get these "user errors" very often!

So, which name do you think sounds more "Chinese" and less foreigner? 戈安東 or 武安東? I need to pick one to get my seal carved!

Since both 戈 and 武 are Chinese surnames, neither one is more or less "Chinese" than the other Although I personally still favor 武

[aguerreiro]

Since both 戈 and 武 are Chinese surnames, neither one is more or less "Chinese" than the other Although I personally still favor 武

So 武安東 it shall be! I like 武安東 too!

Thank you very much for all your help, my friend!

[Allen]

what are surmane and Generation names?

[ghostexorcist]

what are surmane and Generation names?

An Asian surname is like the western surname, it just goes in the beginning of Asian names. (I've been told by some Asian teachers this is because Asians cherish family, hence the position; however, I've been told by college professors that it is because of the inherent sentence structure of Asian languages. It's just a quark of the language. Some Spanish names have the middle name last!) The generation name is usually used to designate which generation a child is born into a family. All children born in the same generation will bear the same generation name. I know some families choose the Hanzi character for that name from a poem written by a patriarch. For each new generation, they just choose the next successive character in a line from the poem. Each child, of course, has a given name as well. The formula looks like this:

Surname + Generation Name + Given name

So if sombody was named Wang Shitong, they might have cousins named Wang Shiping, Wang Shiguan, etc. I don't believe age plays is a factor. You can have a slightly older relative who has the same generation name just because they were born in the same generation.

Not all families follow this, though. I have friends who only have a two character name (Surname + Given name).

[Miley]

jinmo, it sounds very unique. Chinese characters have very rich meanings.It's a big thing for Chinese people to choose a name for their child.For foreigners in China,it's much better to have a Chinese name.No matter what Chinese name you have, it will really impress the chinese people.Hope you can share with us your new chinese name!