Chinese Names

The first time I was in a business meeting in China everyone at the table introduced themself:

• Hi, I'm Daisy
• I'm Jacky
• I'm Minnie
• I'm Rainbow

It was like the opening sequence of the old Micky Mouse Club show. 

I'd expected to hear Chinese-sounding names like "Yao Ming".   But instead, everyone had a very English-sounding name...or at least everyone under 35 years old did.  I later asked, as discretely as I could, why this was so.  

The first part of the answer was that every child in a good school is studying English these days.  It's a global economy and Engish is the language of that global economy.  Parents who want to raise their children for success (and what parent doesn't) make sure that English is on the schedule at school.   In some cities like Shanghai...and I hear soon in all of China...English instruction is required in all the schools.  From the first year onward.

The second part of the answer was that it's normal for each child to choose a "Western" name they will use for the rest of that their life.  Or at least for their business life.  They recognize that Westerners have trouble with the traditional Chinese names.  Having a Western name becomes an advantage if you intend to work and play on a global stage.  The story goes that children choose their Western name around the age of 12.  And I hear that it's not unusual these days for parents to choose a Western name for their child at birth.

Hold on...it gets a little more complicated.   I only make you suffer through this once.

In the US and Europe and Latin America and everyplace I know of besides China, we have a First Name and a Last Name.  The last name is the "Family" name.  The first name is the "Given" name.  In China, this is flipped.   They have a Last name and a First name....or more accurately, their family name comes first and given name comes after.   Unless they use their Western name, in which case they flip and put the family name at the end where we would expect it to be.

Think Jacky Chan.

Jacky Chan (the actor...no relation to Charlie) is actually named Chan Kong Sang.  So he took the Western name "Jacky" stuck his family name "Chan" on the end.  I'm sure this hasn't hurt his career as a Western movie star.

You might think, then, that the local folks only use their Western names when they work with foreigners and they use their Chinese names when they work with each other.   Not as far as I can tell.  On most days I'm the only foreigner in the office, but I still hear everyone talking to each other using Daisy and Charlie and Minnie.  The Western name seems to have amalgamated with their Chinese identity.  Just as a nickname such as Bob or Jim or Millie becomes part of an American's identity.

Not everyone uses a Western name, though.   Older folks ("older" meaning my age) generally use only their Chinese names.   I assume that this is because they came of age before globalization got its legs.  And there are a few younger folks who speak very good English but still use their traditional Chinese names.   I don't know the story yet, but suspect it may express a wee bit of protest.  After all, Chinese names have worked fine for 5000 years....why change now.

What's the point?  The point is that you shouldn't be surprised if everyone I write about is a Minnie or a Charlie or a  Daisy.