The Comparative Study of English and Chinese Names
Abstract: Name, as a cultural carrier, has rich cultural connotations. It embodies the
characteristics of the national culture, which results in the great cultural gap between names in different cultures. There are differences as well as similarities in the structure and the origin of names and the way to name between Chinese and English. The different family names reflect the differences of culture and history, and their similarities reflect the commonness of humanity. Based on the comparative analysis of Chinese and English national name, this thesis probes into cultural differences of the national name between Chinese and English nations, and reveals the abundant cultural connotations and associations of Chinese and English national name.
Key words: Names, The Structure of the Full Name, The Origin of the Family, The way to
Name, Chinese Nation, English Nation,
英汉姓氏文化的对比研究
摘要：姓名作为一种文化载体，具有丰富的文化内涵，集中体现了民族文化的特点，
英汉姓名因而存在着巨大的文化差异。英汉姓氏的结构、起源和取名方式各自不同，但又具有相似之处。两种姓氏的不同，体现出各自不同的文化与历史；它们的相同之处，则反映出人类共性。通过对汉英民族姓名的对比分析，探讨了汉英民族姓名文化之间的差异，从而揭示了汉英民族姓名的丰富的文化内涵。
关键词：姓名，姓名的构成，姓的起源，取名方式，汉民族，英民族
1. The Brief Introduction to Name
Everybody has his own name. A person’s name not only is the simple symbols that are written by a few strokes, but contains the rich cultural and the ideological and historical background behind it. The family is the base unit of the society. And the tribe is related by blood. Past and present, emperors or the ordinary people, names are related to blood. Names, as the thread of the family history and family tree, have the record of the origin of the family lineage and the rise and decline about the family. Those family trees and family history are the important documents that record the historical exploits and show the cultural characteristics of the family. It is the microcosm of the track of the human civilized evolution and the social development.
Name is also the symbol for the members of the society to distinguish each others. As a recognition system, it plays an important role in social contact, political activities and economic lives. Meanwhile, by studying names, we can know the language, history, geography, and religion and class status of one nation. Because the source of name, and the choice of name have close connection with the national history, social values, religious beliefs, ecological environment and one’s ambition. Through the comparative analysis of the Chinese names and English names, and the discussion on the differences of them, it can be revealed that the two nations have rich cultural connotation and associations. That revealing the similarities and differences between the English and Chinese names can deepen the understanding the culture of the English and Chinese names as well as promoting the study of the Chinese and English names. So it can advance the communication and exchange between different cultures and different nations.
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2．The Structure of Name
Name is composed of family name and given name. The order of the name is different in the two countries. This part will introduce the main structure of the name in the two countries.
2.1 The structure of the Chinese name
The structure of the Chinese name was “Family name + Generation character + Last name” in the past. Let’s take a family name, Hu, as an example. The father was called Hu Guangquan, and he had two sons. The elder brother was called Hu Yuwen, while another was called Hu Yutao. The character “Guang”(光) is the father’s generation character. And for the two brothers the middle name “Yu”(宇) is their generation character. In this family, the generation character “Guang” is put before the character “Yu”. That is “Yu” is less than “Guang” in their generation of the family. The generation character usually reflects whether a generation is junior or senior. Every family has different surname, and has different family tree. So the generation character is the core of the family and the bridge among the family. But after the movement doing away “Four olds”(破四旧) of the Cultural Revolution, people wouldn’t deliberately give the name by using the generation character. So the main structure of the name in Chinese form is “Family name + Given name” today. Now in Chinese name, there are less characters revealing generation as it was before.
In the past, almost every Chinese family had the genealogy which was updated at regular interval. Whenever a boy was born, he would be named after the certain generation based on the family tree. It is called generation character (字辈) which stands for the family generation. And it has the nickname of “Pai”(派). Generation character originated from the Song Dynasty. The Study of Genealogy(谱牒学研) recorded that Song Taizong Zhao Kuangyin established 13 Fanzi(范字)which included De(德), Wei(惟), Cong(从), Shi(世), Ling(令), Zi(子), Bo(伯), Shi(师), Xi(希), Yu(与), Meng(孟), You(由), Yi(宜). And counting in the character Kuang(匡), the number of the generation character was made 14. These may be the earliest generation character. Later it generally becomes a rule to give the name by putting the generation character after family name. It was the product of ancestral shrine. When one family generated the candidates or scholars，the emperor would establish one generation character for the family. There were some generation characters which were granted by the emperor, such as the generation character of Confucius nationality’s descendants who was given by the emperor of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
2.2 The structure of the English name
In England, given names occurred before family names. Therefore, the order of names in England is opposite to that in China. The order is that given name comes first and family name last. The tattoo in England is completely different with it in China. In England, when naming a person, they often use the ancestral predecessors’ names. Meanwhile, in order to distinguish from the previous names, they usually put one word between the first and the last name which is called
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middle name. This is one origin of the middle name. Therefore the structure of English names is that “Given name + Middle name + Last name”. The sources of the middle name are broad, and it can come from the father’s given name, the mother’s given name, the mother’s family name, or a grandfather’s family name. It can also be the name whichever they like.
The different order embodies the different culture tradition. As we all know, family name is the code of one family. Foe one family, the family name is the common symbol for all the members of the family. It is called universality. But the given name is the code for one certain family member. It shows individuality. In China, the order reflects the characteristics that the Chinese people respect our ancestors. But in England, the name’s order is that given name reflects the characteristics of pursuing the individuality. But whatever the order is, family name is the sign of the family the forever.
3. The Origin of Family Name
Family name is the link to the tribe, and it is important for every tribe. With the development of society, family name is also developing. If we will keep abreast of family name, we should acquaint the origins of family name first. In this part, something about the origin of the family name will be mentioned.
3.1 The main sources of the Chinese family name
Now the Chinese names’ system mainly refers to the full names’ system of the Han nationality. It is generally recognized that the Chinese names originated from the matriarchal clan society. “Family name” originated first from all sorts of totem and places’ names of the distant past. It has been a huge system of family names after being developed for so long time. The sources of family names are variety, and the basis of the name is different. The sources are mainly included in the following aspects:
1) It was named after the primitive totem worship, such as horses, bear, cow, sheep, phoenix, dragon, mountain, flowers, water, leaves, etc.
2) It was to memorialize the ancestors with ancestral name or style for surname, such as fish, well, livestock-breeding, and Lu etc.
3) The family name was known for the fiefs and country names, such as Zhao, Wu, Zheng, Chen, Wei, Lu, Miao, Liu, Tang and so on.
4) It was named after the job or position which one is engaged, such as Jia (商人), Tao (陶工), Shang Guan(上官), Si Ma(司马) etc.
5) The family name was related with their settlements, such as Dongguo(东郭), Ximen(西门), Qiu (邱), Lv (闾), Hao (郝)and so on.
6) It was granted by emperor, such as Liu(刘), Zheng(郑) etc.
7) It was the Chinese evolution of the minorities, such as that from Aisingoro hala(爱新觉罗氏) to Jin(金), etc.
The sources and types are abundant. If it is divided futher, there will be more kinds.
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3.2 The main sources of the English family name
The English name appeared later than the Chinese name. It became a fixed model around the year from 1100 to 1450. English names derived from many languages, such as the Old English, the Old French, the Old Norse, Irish, Germanic, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and so on. The origin of English reflects the history of the United Kingdom when the country suffered the war and alien invasion regularly. And it can also reflect that the England has the broad blending with the alien.
English family name comes from 8 kind’s origins.
1) It was from the physical (appearance, figure), physiological (temper, morals), or lifestyle characteristics (habits) of the ancestors. Such as Peter Strong, Roger Little, Long, Short, Wise and so on.
2) It was from the ancestral professions or good skills, such as Chancellor(司法官), Deacon(执事), Alderman(高级市政官,地位仅次于市长), Carter(马车夫) Cook (厨子), Smith (铁匠), Butcher (屠夫), Copper Smith(铜匠), Peddler(小贩)and so on.
3) It was from the residence.This way was previously used by France. It was brought to England after the Norman Conquest in the 11th century. It should be noted that many noble family names are formed in this way. These names often have particles “at” or “de” which means “of”. Such as Edgar Atwell (水井), William Atwood(树林). Later，the particles such as “at” is removed. The name has become the way they are today. Such as John Brook, Edgar Well, William Wood. The similar names include Everest (山峰), Ford (浅滩), Hill (山), Lake (湖), Field (原野).
4) The name was from the animals. This way was produced in the middle Ages. In that time people was fond of decorating their head by using the animal sign they advocated. If a person likes lion's courage, then he might choose Lion as his family name. Names similar to this kind cover Bull(公牛), Fox (狐狸) Peacock (雄孔雀), Lamb (小羊) Bird (小鸟) and so on.
5) It was from nationalities. Such as Angles(盎格鲁人)、German德国人、Welsh(威尔士人), etc.
6) It was from the natural phenomena. Such as Frost (霜), Rain (雨), Show (雪) and so on. 7) It was from the plant name. Such as: Flower (花), Rose (玫瑰花) and so on.
8) It was the characters’ names (such as James) from Bible and Saints’ names (such as Martin) from Christian. Those names are an important source of English family name database. They enriched English names, as well as those in other European countries.
Family names in England and China are various. By comparison, the number of the English family name is much more than the number of the Chinese family name. According to the record of Bai Jia Xing(百家姓), in China, there are 442 single-family names and compound-family names with the total number of 503. The Complete Book of Chinese Surnames (中国姓氏大全) contains 5,600 surnames. Adding the name that it is now in use, the name that it was existed in history and the name that it was disappeared later, we can find only a total of 12 000 names, according to the Chinese Ancient and Modern Names Dictionary (中华古今姓氏大辞典). But the British have 35000 family names.
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4. The Way to Name the Given Name
In one family, when one is born, his parents should give him a given name. The given name is the main representation for every person. And when we make acquaintance with somebody, we often remember his name first.
This part contains four aspects: the mentality and principles to name the given name, the same way, the similar characteristics and the different way to name the given name in China and England.
4.1 The mentality and principles to name the given names
“A good name can resound for a lifetime.” (起个好名字,响亮一辈子) This is the common mentality that Chinese and English nations give names. The basic principles for Chinese to give given names are beautiful shape, beautiful sound and beautiful meaning. Beautiful shape means choosing the shapely font simplified moderate characters; beautiful sound means choosing characters which speak easily with clear pronunciation, such as Qiang (强), Chang (昌), Liang (良), Hua (华), etc. while beautiful meaning means choosing the characters with abounded connotation and good fortune, such as Fa (发), Xiang (祥) and so on.
Because of the difference of personal aesthetic ideas, the standards choosing characters vary from person to person. Some people love to use unfamiliar characters, which can display the name’s uniqueness and elegance. Some people also love to use popular characters, such as Gou Er (狗儿), Tie Dan (铁蛋)，which show the affection of intimacy. Take the name of Qian Zhongshu, a typical one of this kind, as an example. The name reflects the customs of the name in the Han nationality. At that time it had the custom of grasping lots(抓周). That is putting a lot of things in front of the child at his one age old and letting the child grab things which is believed to predict the child’s natural disposition or future occupation. What Qian Zhongshu grasped was one book. Thus, his father, a scholar, concluded that the child would love books in his future. So he named him Zhongshu(钟书). Some people use the name to express the child’s sex; some show the child's birth order; some reflect the time or place of birth, and some reflect characteristics of the times and trends that child was born. In short, naming the given name is an extensive knowledge. It is the crystallization of national culture in different periods, the reflection of the national psychology, and the sign of the time fashion.
In western countries, as a saying goes: “Giving him a good name is better than giving him wealth.” (起个好名字胜于发财致富). So, people also use the words which means noble, auspicious, glorious to name their children. But some people use the words which have bad sense or indecent pronunciation. Through which, they hope to fulfill “the evil press the evil”(以邪压邪) or “sounding humble but living long”(贱而长寿).
Giving their children a name is one kind of way to express parents’ hope to their children and the family. In this point, Chinese and English are alike. Chinese parents name their children in this way, such as Fu Lai(福来), Cai Wang(财旺), etc. It shows the expectations of wealth and
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The Comparative Study of English and Chinese Names
