# 两个字符的名字



## dojibear

The topic is "choosing a Chinese name for an American", and how Chinese friends will use the name. I think in casual situations my friends will use 2 syllables. If I choose 高理达 then I will often be called 理达. If I use used 高理 I will be called 高理, not 理.

My question is this: in the name 高理达, is the given name 理达 thought of as two 1-syllable given names or one 2-syllable given name?


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## ovaltine888

There is always only one syllable in one Chinese character. So there is no point in thinking of the syllables but just to count the characters in Chinese.

The one-character given name is called 单名 and the two-character given name is called 双名.

If somebody's given name is 双名, we usually call him by the two-character given name on casual occasions to show the closeness.

But it doesn't apply to 单名 situations, because usually we call others by at least two characters. So in this case, we will call them by the full name--Surname+单名.

Please note Chinese surname can also be 单姓(single surname) or 复姓(double surname), though the latter is not that common.

Sometimes it can be confusing when someone has a 复姓 and a 单名, such as "令狐冲”. You may tend to think the surname is "令" and the given name is "狐冲". But in fact, in this case it is a double surname "令狐" plus a one-character given name "冲".

When it comes to 复姓+双名, then the full name will be in four characters somewhat like a Japanese name, such as "西门吹雪". It's rare but it happens.


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## Skatinginbc

令狐冲, 冲兒、冲哥、阿冲
郭靖, 靖兒、靖哥、阿靖
高理, 理兒、理哥、阿理.


dojibear said:


> in the name 高理达, is the given name 理达 thought of as two 1-syllable given names or one 2-syllable given name?


 one 2-character given name


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## ovaltine888

Skatinginbc said:


> 令狐冲, 冲兒、冲哥、阿冲
> 郭靖, 靖兒、靖哥、阿靖
> 高理, 理兒、理哥、阿理.


阿冲 这种用法是哪个地方的习惯？我在影视作品中见过，但是实际生活中不常见。


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## Skatinginbc

ovaltine888 said:


> 哪个地方的习惯？


   南方, 古越地區 (e.g., 吳越, 閩越, 南越(粵)), 如: 學識淺的「阿蒙」(吕蒙, 汝南富陂人, 今安徽阜南), 挾天子的「阿瞞」(曹操, 沛國譙縣人，今安徽亳州), 扶不起的「阿斗」 （劉禪, 生母甘夫人為沛縣人，今江蘇徐州), 南朝宋（定都建康，今江蘇南京）的「阿戎」(i.e., 堂弟, 又作為王戎的暱稱)。  

江浙  (吳語區) : 十里洋場的印度「阿三」(上海話)，《天龍八部》姑蘇慕容家的「阿碧、阿朱」, 鲁迅 (紹興人) 形容舊時小名為「阿猫阿狗」.
台灣 (閩語區) : 阿里山的「阿里」, 前總統「阿扁」(陳水扁).
廣東 (粵語區) : 阿Sam, 阿Tom,「唔使問阿貴」的「阿貴」.

「阿姐 、阿叔」通行的地區, 一般就習慣以「阿」作為暱稱前綴 (prefix of endearment; e.g., 阿寶, 阿囡, 阿大, 阿二, 阿亮, 阿强, 阿嬌, 阿哥).


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## SimonTsai

dojibear said:


> in the name 高理达, is the given name 理达 thought of as two 1-syllable given names or one 2-syllable given name?


ovaltine and Skating have given their answers, and I am with them.


> If I choose 高理达 then I will often be called 理达. If I use used 高理 I will be called 高理, not 理.


It is customary for us to call someone by a disyllabic name when we are trying to get close to him.

For those with a disyllabic given name, we may call them by their given name.
For the others, we may make up a disyllabic nickname based on their full name when we find doing so appropriate.



Skatinginbc said:


> 高理 [==>] 理兒、理哥


Nicknames of the structure 'Ｘ兒’ are old-fashioned. Such names are mostly called by parents.

In the structure 'Ｘ哥', 'Ｘ' can also be someone's surname; I have heard '雍哥'.


> 台灣 (閩語區) : [...] 一般就習慣以「阿」作為暱稱前綴


Things are probably changing, I would say. Hokkien is admittedly losing popularity. Nicknames like '阿強' and '阿嬌' are a strong marker of people of advanced age.


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## Skatinginbc

周星馳「星爺」, 賈璉「璉爺」, 賈珍「珍爺」,  高理「理爺」(or「高爺」).

香港「港仔」, 劉德華「華仔」，梁朝偉「偉仔」， 周潤發「發仔」, 高理「理仔」, 台語「阿兜仔」(i.e., 鼻挺的西方人), 陳水扁「阿扁仔」.


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## Flaminius

How about repeating 单名?  Is it a common method of creating a nickname (on occasion where nicknames are appropriate, of course)?


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## Skatinginbc

高理「小理」,  如《琅琊榜》裡 林殊 别名「小殊」, 蕭景睿 别名「小睿」。


Flaminius said:


> How about repeating 单名?


It is possible.   如 《三生三世十里桃花》裡 折顏 叫 白真 「真真」 。 

胡軍的兒子胡皓康，小名「康康」。


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## SimonTsai

Just to make it clear, 'Ｘ爺' is a honorific that was commonly used in China in the old days. ('爺' roughly equates to '_lord_'.)


Flaminius said:


> How about repeating 单名?


Names with consecutive repeated syllables are unusual in my experience. Such names are typically

for babies or toddlers (e.g., 佑佑),
for schoolgirlish fictional characters (e.g., 莉莉), or
for pets, especially those generally considered to be adorable such as dogs and cats (e.g., 奇奇).


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## dojibear

不幸的是，我的美国名字有复姓和单名。"Ted Crowley" 听起来 “岑阔理”，但是“岑”是名，而不是姓。

Maybe I should just reverse things, using my given name as my Chinese surname. 岑阔理 is a 单姓和双名 name, 岑 is a surname, and 阔理 seems like a possible male given name (though it probably isn't a common name).



Flaminius said:


> How about repeating 单名?


I've been using 高理 because it sounds like my surname "Crowley" to me. But 理理 sounds like "Lily" -- a flower and a female English name. 不行。我很男子的男人，对不对？


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## ovaltine888

dojibear said:


> 不幸的是，我的美国名字有复姓和单名。"Ted Crowley" 听起来 “岑阔理”，但是“岑”是名，而不是姓。
> 
> Maybe I should just reverse things, using my given name as my Chinese surname. 岑阔理 is a 单姓和双名 name, 岑 is a surname, and 阔理 seems like a possible male given name (though it probably isn't a common name).
> 
> 
> I've been using 高理 because it sounds like my surname "Crowley" to me. But 理理 sounds like "Lily" -- a flower and a female English name. 不行。我很男子的男人，对不对？


In my opinion, unless your surname is a common Chinese 复姓 like 欧阳、司徒、司马、上官、令狐、宇文, etc, people will not consider you have a 复姓. Self-coined 复姓 does not really work if you want your Chinese name to sound more natural to native speakers.

I think 高理 is already a good choice to reflect your surname pronunciation.

But if you want to combine your first and last names together to come up with a Chinese name, the common practice for a foreigner is to compress his surname into one syllable to match a Chinese character. In your case, you can still keep “高” for _Crowley. _But 高岑 sounds a little bit weird because it is very close to 高层 which means the _top management _or_ high-rise buildings_ , though I like 岑 which sounds quite literary.

Supposing your full given name is _Theodore_, I would suggest 晓东(xiao3dong1) for your given name. 高晓东 is definitely a very common Chinese name. Nobody in China will raise an eyebrow on hearing it until they see you in person.


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## Skatinginbc

dojibear said:


> "Ted Crowley"


原來是位「角里先生」  (Note: Western Han Chinese 角 /*krōk/; 角里, which sounds like _Crowley_ in Western Han Chinese, is actually an ancient disyllabic surname)--漢朝隱士四皓之一 (one of the four long-lived hermits extolled for their virtues in the early Han dynasty). 

闊理, 寇離, 高理 (Note: 闊, 寇 and 高 are all existing surnames).


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## dojibear

Skatinginbc said:


> 闊理, 寇離, 高理  (Note: 闊, 寇 and 高 are all existing surnames)


"Crowley" has 3 English pronunciations: kuao1-li3, kuo1-li3, kuou1-li3. My family uses kuao1-li3. I knew I could use 高 or 郭 from 百家姓. I will add 阔 to that list, now that I know it is a surname. Thank you.



ovaltine888 said:


> The common practice for a foreigner is to compress his surname into one syllable to match a Chinese character.


Thanks for this idea. I will think about using a one-syllable surname and picking a 双名 based on meanings, not English sounds.


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## SimonTsai

'岑', '闊', '寇', and '角里' as surnames are so rare that I would suggest that you stick to '高'.


dojibear said:


> "Ted Crowley" 听起来 [像] “岑阔理”


I do not see a way in which '_Ted_' can be acoustically related to '岑', which begins with '_ts- _(Wade–Giles)'.


> Maybe I should just reverse things, using my given name as my Chinese surname.


Or you can make up a name like this:

*Ted* || *Crow**ley* ==> 高 || 禮 (courtesy) 泰 (peace and happiness)​
which is good although somewhat Korean-sounding.


> 不行。我 [是] 很 [有] 男子 [氣概] 的 [，對吧]？


I have made a few changes to your sentence so that it is grammatically correct. If you are interested to know how to make it more natural, you can start a thread on it, providing context.


> But 理理 sounds like "Lily" -- a flower and a female English name.


'理理' is actually more masculine than feminine as men are believed to be more rational.


Skatinginbc said:


> 高理「小理」


Nicknames like this are liable to cause offence. The speaker may be considered to be belittling someone. My father used to be called '小蔡' by his line manager; I would be uncomfortable with it.


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## dojibear

SimonTsai said:


> I do not see a way in which '_Ted_' can be acoustically related to '岑',  which begins with '_ts-_


I think language trains our hearing. My native language doesn't have words starting with "ts-", so I hear 岑 with "t-". Similarly, to my ears 泰 is "tie", a totally different sound than the vowel in "Ted". To me "Ted" uses a vowel that only exists in Mandarin after an "i" sound (for example in 田). 

But thanks for your comment. I shouldn't use '岑'. 



SimonTsai said:


> Or you can make up a name like this:
> *Ted* || *Crow**ley* ==> 高 || 禮 (courtesy) 泰 (peace and happiness)


It's a good idea, but it won't work for me. I don't want to be called 禮泰 or any other 2-syllable given name that starts with "li". I'm probably better off finding a name based on its meaning (but a name I like the sound of).


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## ovaltine888

dojibear said:


> I think language trains our hearing. My native language doesn't have words starting with "ts-", so I hear 岑 with "t-". Similarly, to my ears 泰 is "tie", a totally different sound than the vowel in "Ted". To me "Ted" uses a vowel that only exists in Mandarin after an "i" sound (for example in 田).
> 
> But thanks for your comment. I shouldn't use '岑'.
> 
> It's a good idea, but it won't work for me. I don't want to be called 禮泰 or any other 2-syllable given name that starts with "li". I'm probably better off finding a name based on its meaning (but a name I like the sound of).



Is your _Ted _a short form of _Edward _or _Theodore? _Or is it simply _Ted_? Any special meaning behind it?

Actually I happened to check the origin of Theodore, it means "the gift of God" in ancient Greek. And I came up with a Chinese parallel "天赐” (tian1ci4), which literally means "bestowed by heaven", and it also matches your desired pronunciation (starting with the sound same as 田).

I will say 高天赐 is a nice one.

For your reference.


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## dojibear

ovaltine888 said:


> Actually I happened to check the origin of Theodore, it means "the gift of God" in ancient Greek. And I came up with a Chinese parallel "天赐” (tian1ci4), which literally means "bestowed by heaven", and it also matches your desired pronunciation (starting with the sound same as 田).
> 
> I will say 高天赐 is a nice one.


Yes, my name is "Theodore" and "gift of God" is its ancient meaning. In ancient Greek "theos" is God and "dorus" is gift. The girl's name Dorothy has the same ancient meaning.

But name meanings only matters to parents who are choosing baby names. Nobody ever uses those meanings, or even learns them. Our customs are so different! In China, people use actual words for names. In the US, most names are "traditional names" with no other meaning.

I thought about finding some combination of 天 and "gift", but I don't know many words. 天赐 seems like a nice given name. To an English speaker "ci" is a little hard to pronounce, but the 1-4 tone pattern is natural for a name.


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## Skatinginbc

dojibear said:


> To me "Ted" uses a vowel that only exists in Mandarin after an "i" sound (for example in 田).


True.  For example, Middle Chinese 鐵 /*tʰet̚/ (or EdwinPulleyblank's reconstruction /*tʰɛt̚/; Japanese Kan-on /tetsu/; Han-Viet /tʰiết/, Meixian Hakka /tiad5/) turned into Mandarin Pinyin /tiě/ [tʰie] with an additional medial /-i-/.  Still, I think 鐵 is the sound you can find in Mandarin that is closest to the pronunciation of English _Ted_ /tɛd/ [tʰɛd].

"_Uncle Ted_": 鐵叔
"_Master Ted_": 鐵爺
"_Brother Ted_": 鐵兄, 鐵哥 (e.g.,《射雕英雄傳》裡 包惜弱 叫 楊鐵心「鐵哥」)
"_Teddy_" (diminutive):  小鐵, 鐵仔 (diminutive)


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## dojibear

dojibear said:


> Similarly, to my ears 泰 is "tie", a totally different sound than the vowel in "Ted".


I meant the English word "tie", which is "tai" in pinyin. Sorry for any confusion.



Skatinginbc said:


> Still, I think 鐵 is the sound you can find in Mandarin that is closest to the pronunciation of English _Ted_ /tɛd/ [tʰɛd].


I agree. 鐵 is pinyin "tie", which is English ""tieh" or "tyeh".



Skatinginbc said:


> "_Brother Ted_": 鐵兄, 鐵哥


There is also "Brother Ted": 鐵弟 (铁弟) which sounds similar to English "Teddy". Do Chinese nicknames sometimes use 弟 (younger brother), or do they always 兄 or 哥?


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## Skatinginbc

dojibear said:


> "Ted Crowley"


鐵闊黎 (唐朝密宗「阿闊黎」的闊黎) , 鐵闊里 (元朝皇后「闊里桀擔」的闊里) , 鐵闊理, 鐵闊禮, 鐵闊立, 鐵闊力, 鐵闊利...
闊里泰(迪)...


dojibear said:


> I could use 高 or 郭 from 百家姓.


For example, 高鐵 or 郭怗 (鍋貼).  (just kidding)


dojibear said:


> Do Chinese nicknames sometimes use 弟 (younger brother)?


Yes. 鐵弟 is possible.


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## SimonTsai

dojibear said:


> In China, people use actual words for names. In the US, most names are "traditional names" with no other meaning.


I am sorry, but, as a matter of fact, Chinese given names are just like English given names in that most of them are not real words, but components that will otherwise not collocate.


Skatinginbc said:


> I think 鐵 is the sound you can find in Mandarin that is closest to the pronunciation of English _Ted_ /tɛd/ [tʰɛd].


Although being rare, '鐵' as a surname seems to be satisfactory not solely because of its sound but because of the image that it evokes, an iron-willed man, which may fit @dojibear.


> 鐵闊里 (元朝皇后「闊里桀擔」的闊里)


Of all the given names that you suggested, I like this the most because the characters '闊' and '里' conjure up images of a vast plain, on which there may be a knight in shining armour.

(Or we may replace '闊' with '彉', which is a quaintish homophone referring to the act of reaching full draw before shooting an arrow, with which the name becomes more aggressive.)


ovaltine888 said:


> Actually I happened to check the origin of Theodore, [which] means "the gift of God" in ancient Greek. And I came up with a Chinese parallel "天赐” (tian1 ci4), which literally means "bestowed by heaven"


Marvellously fitting!


> Supposing your full given name is _Theodore_, I would suggest 晓东 (xiao3dong1) for your given name. 高晓东 is definitely a very common Chinese name. Nobody in China will raise an eyebrow on hearing it until they see you in person.


I am not very sure if it is equally common here, but it is certainly natural and suggests youth and liveliness, and maybe the Chinese culture as well. ('曉' and '東' refer respectively to sunrise and the east, or the Orient.)


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## dojibear

dojibear said:


> Our customs are so different! In China, people use actual words for names.





SimonTsai said:


> I am sorry, but, as a matter of fact, Chinese given names are just like English given names in that most of them are not real words, but components that will otherwise not collocate.


I wrote incorrectly. What I called a "word" is really a "component with meaning" -- 1 hanzi within a 2-hanzi name. And most names don't use 2 characters that collocate (form a word). That's why I don't use 高铁 as a name.

But there is still a big difference. Chinese parents can create new given names, using meaningful components. That is rare in America and England, where people use old given names. Any component-combining (names with meaning) happened long ago, often in a language older than English. "Theodore" is a 2600-year-old Greek name. "Roger" is 1000-year-old French name.  "Ruth" is a 2500-year-old Hebrew name. In modern English, these don't have meanings. They are just names.

I recently read an explanation for this difference. In pre-maoist China the children inherited only the father's name, and the mother's name was lost. For thousands of years, a surname vanished if a family had no sons. The five thousand Han surnames that once existed have dwindled to a few hundred surnames shared by billions of Chinese. The Chinese (and Vietnamese), with so few family names, create a great variety of given names. We (Americans, British), with our vast number of family names, can afford to give our children a small set of traditional given names.


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## dojibear

I have one other question. Do you think people would be offended by me switching surnames and given names? 

For example, I could use 鐵闊黎 to sound like "Ted Crowley" (pinyin: tie kuoli), but that is switching:

Surname: Crowley, 鐵
Give name: Ted, 闊黎


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## ovaltine888

dojibear said:


> I have one other question. Do you think people would be offended by me switching surnames and given names?
> 
> For example, I could use 鐵闊黎 to sound like "Ted Crowley" (pinyin: tie kuoli), but that is switching:
> 
> Surname: Crowley, 鐵
> Give name: Ted, 闊黎



Nope. Names are personal. People do not really care how you call yourself. What matters is whether the name is easy for others to pronounce and remember.

Sometimes it might be a question whether you would feel offended when others change your name in their own way.

Chinese people are not used to multiple-syllable names and they tend to shorten long foreign names in their mouth. For instance, Bora Milutinović, a Serbian coach who used to head the Chinese national football team, is best known in China as 米卢(Milu), a cropped version of his surname 米卢蒂诺维奇(Milutinović), though he once mentioned in an interview he preferred to be referred to his given name 博拉 (Bora).

Also you need to mind the sound combination of the name especially when it is not very catchy to native speakers, people often alter it to something they are more familiar with and sometimes it may even end up with an epithet with pejorative implication. To give an example, 阔黎 in your proposed name is very likely to be mistaken for 库里 (Stephen _Curry_) after it is circulated among a larger group of people.

Having a natural Chinese name (like 川建国, a nickname for Donald Trump given by Chinese netizens) will certainly add to the "comradely recognition" and draw close each other when you deal with Chinese people.


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## brofeelgood

There's no definitive way to 'sinicise' names. According to this Wikipedia article (非汉字地区姓名的汉式译名), a popular method goes as follows:

1) One Chinese character to represent the first syllable of your surname, or two if a particular compound surname (复姓) bears a stronger resemblance, e.g. 司徒雷登 John Leighton Stuart.

2) One or two characters to represent your given name.

More examples can be found in the article.


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## SimonTsai

ovaltine888 said:


> Chinese people are not used to multiple-syllable names and they tend to shorten long foreign names in their mouth.


It is true that we generally prefer personal names with five or fewer syllables in total, with the given name and the surname disyllabic or trisyllabic. But this does not seem to be relevant here. ('鐵闊黎' is trisyllabic and is fine.)


> when it is not very catchy to native speakers, people often alter it [...] 阔黎 [...] is very likely to be mistaken for 库里 (Stephen _Curry_) after it is circulated among a larger group of people.


I would describe '鐵闊黎' as picturesque. It is certainly charming and catchy enough. If anyone were to urge you to change it even after you show him its beauty, you need not do anything.


dojibear said:


> Do you think people would be offended by me switching surnames and given names?


No. Why did you ask?


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## dojibear

dojibear said:


> Do you think people would be offended by me switching surnames and given names?





SimonTsai said:


> No. Why did you ask?


I only ask because I don't know Chinese customs, so I'm not sure what actions are offensive.

I was imagining myself using 铁阔黎 as a name, and a friend thinking of me as 铁先生. 
Then the friend learns that my English surname sounds similar to 阔黎, not  铁.


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## Skatinginbc

dojibear said:


> 不幸的是，我的美国名字有复姓和单名。


If you prefer a rare or newly coined 複姓:
(1) Use 里 (e.g.,  闊里), instead of 理 (e.g., 闊理) because 里, not 理, often appears in Chinese disyllabic surnames.  For example, 百里奚 (春秋時秦國大夫), 樗里疾 (戰國中期秦國宗室名將), 綺里季 (漢初隱士商山四皓之一), 東里袞 (三國時期魏國將領), 相里斌 (中國科學院副院長), 霍里子高 (漢代朝鮮人), not to speak of the Yuan Dynasty empress 闊里桀擔 and the Han Dynasty 角里先生.
(2) Use a well-known (e.g., 泰迪, 天賜) or easily identified given name so that it is readily separated from the rest (i.e., surname) of your full name (e.g., 闊里泰迪, 闊里天賜).
(3) Pronounce 里 with a reduced tone (like the 里 in 滴里0嘟嚕 ㄉㄧ　˙ㄌㄧ　ㄉㄨ　ㄌㄨ, 糊里0糊塗  ㄏㄨˊ　˙ㄌㄧ　ㄏㄨˊ　ㄊㄨˊ, 街里街坊 ㄐㄧㄝ　˙ㄌㄧ　ㄐㄧㄝ　ㄈㄤ) when you introduce yourself (e.g.,  我叫 闊里0 泰, not 闊 里3泰; 相里0 斌 or 巷裡 賓, not 相 里3斌 or 向 禮賓) so that people would immediately know that 里 is attached to the previous character, rather than the following element.


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## ovaltine888

Skatinginbc said:


> If you prefer a rare or newly coined 複姓:
> (1) Yuan Dynasty empress 闊里桀擔


Technically, this one is not a Chinese 复姓 but a Mongolian name written in Chinese characters, similar to 孛儿只斤.



Skatinginbc said:


> (2) Use a well-known (e.g., 泰迪, 天賜) or easily identified given name....


Personally, I would not recommend 泰迪 as it sounds like a pet name to my ear.


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## Skatinginbc

Skatinginbc said:


> 里, not 理, often appears in Chinese disyllabic surnames.  For example, 百里奚 (春秋時秦國大夫), 樗里疾 (戰國中期秦國宗室名將), 綺里季 (漢初隱士商山四皓之一), 東里袞 (三國時期魏國將領), 相里斌 (中國科學院副院長), 霍里子高 (漢代朝鮮人), not to speak of the Yuan Dynasty empress 闊里桀擔 and the Han Dynasty 角里先生.





ovaltine888 said:


> Technically, this one (闊里桀擔) is not a Chinese 复姓 but a Mongolian name written in Chinese characters


True. 
I wasn't clear enough.  I meant:
里, not 理, often appears in Chinese disyllabic surnames like 百里 (e.g., 百里奚), 樗里 (e.g., 樗里疾), 綺里 (e.g., 綺里季), 東里 (e.g., 東里袞), 相里 (e.g., 相里斌), and 霍里 (e.g., 霍里子高). 
里, not 理, also often appears in names that superficially look like surnames (e.g., 闊里桀擔, 角里先生).  Although 角里 can be a 複姓, the 角里 in the context of "Han Dynasty 角里先生" is technically not a 複姓.  The Mr. 角里 actually 姓周 (陈留志云: 角里先生，河内轵人，太伯之后，姓周名术，字元道，京师号曰霸上先生，一曰角里先生).  I deliberately put 百里奚, 樗里疾, 綺里季, 東里袞, 相里斌, 霍里子高 in one group, and 闊里桀擔, 角里先生 in another.


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## dojibear

Skatinginbc said:


> If you prefer a rare or newly coined 複姓


This is good information to add to this thread. It will help others in the future.

For me, it seems better to follow the "most common" convention and use a 单姓.  If I want a name that imitates the sound of my US name, I will use a name like 铁阔里 that imitates my US name order, while following the 单姓  双名 convention.



Skatinginbc said:


> (2) Use a well-known (e.g., 泰迪, 天賜) or easily identified given name so that it is readily separated from the rest (i.e., surname) of your full name (e.g., 闊里泰迪, 闊里天賜).


Good idea. I think 天賜 is a good given name for me. It will be recognized as a Chinese given name.



brofeelgood said:


> a popular method goes as follows: 1) One Chinese character to represent the first syllable of your surname


For this I prefer 高. It matches my family's pronounciation of "Crow-" (kuao, not kuo). And my whole family was tall (1.93米的哥哥, 1.80米的妹妹) so the meaning is good.

Thanks for all the information about names and all the good suggestions. 

Based on this thread, I may use the name 高天賜, or I may use 铁阔里 (or a similar-sounding name like 铁高理).


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## SuperXW

Man...铁阔里 is just...bizarre...
But it is ok if you insist using a stylish one.


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## dojibear

SuperXW said:


> Man...铁阔里 is just...bizarre...
> But it is ok if you insist using a stylish one.


Is the sound bizarre, or is the meaning bizarre, or both? I can change the given name to any 2 characters whose pinyin is gao-li or kuo-li. I prefer 高理, but that doesn't matter. This name would be chosen for its sound.

I don't know what a "stylish" name is. So I probably don't insist on using one.


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## ovaltine888

dojibear said:


> Is the sound bizarre, or is the meaning bizarre, or both? I can change the given name to any 2 characters whose pinyin is gao-li or kuo-li. I prefer 高理, but that doesn't matter. This name would be chosen for its sound.
> 
> I don't know what a "stylish" name is. So I probably don't insist on using one.



铁阔里 sounds exotic to me. It reminds me of a set of Mongolian names in Chinese characters: 铁木真, 窝阔台. But they are not usual combinations of sounds and characters if regarded as a Chinese name.


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## SuperXW

ovaltine888 said:


> 铁阔里 sounds exotic to me. It reminds me of a set of Mongolian names in Chinese characters: 铁木真, 窝阔台. But they are not usual combinations of sounds and characters if regarded as a Chinese name.


Yep.
And Skatinginbc has mentioned from the beginning that it was a rare or newly coined 复姓.


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## Skatinginbc

Not Bizarre: For example,
One of the authors of 恶性淋巴瘤超声诊断及其临床价值 (中国临床医学影像杂志 2005年16卷02期) is called「马阔里」. 
A member of 中共揭西县委组织部村务公开监督小组 is called「李阔里」 .

But Exotic: For example,        
「阔里吉思」是元朝开国皇帝忽必烈的外孙.
 《四库全书钦定辽史语解卷七》中提到辽语的人名 "科里", 满语又作「阔里」.
赫哲族称可变成人, 变成萨满的神鹰为「阔里」.


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## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> Not Bizarre: For example,
> One of the authors of 恶性淋巴瘤超声诊断及其临床价值 (中国临床医学影像杂志 2005年16卷02期) is called「马阔里」.
> A member of 中共揭西县委组织部村务公开监督小组 is called「李阔里」 .


These two names are rare, comparing to thousands of common ones. 
Plus the rare surname 铁, it sounds...Mongolian.
*A non-Mongolian foreigner having a Mongolian-style-Chinese name, this thing...I consider bizarre.*
I know you love ancient culture, but it worth mention that your example's appearance in modern society are rare and strange.


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## SimonTsai

'鐵' as a family name is rare, but probably not coined. It is said to be from Central China much earlier than the Mongol Empire was founded; the empire collapsed hundreds of years ago.

Here is an esteemed member of the Chinese Communist Party of the family: '鐵瑛'.


ovaltine888 said:


> Mongolian names in Chinese characters: 铁木真, 窝阔台.


I am here just to add that '鐵木真' as a whole is actually the given name, with '奇渥溫' the family name.


dojibear said:


> Is the sound bizarre, or is the meaning bizarre, or both?


The name is odd in that '鐵' is rare as a Chinese family name and is reminiscent of Mongols when combined with '闊里', which is unusual as a given name and evokes images of the Mongolian Plateau. (Whilst it is odd, it is not really strange. I would not frown at either part of the name.)


> For this I prefer 高. [...] And my whole family was tall (1.93米的哥哥, 1.80米的妹妹) so the meaning is good.


You were born to be a giant! (高天賜 ==> 身高是天賜的 )


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## dojibear

I don't want to be odd, or rare, or Mongolian. So 高天赐 is better. What about 高天礼? I think 天礼 and 天赐 have similar meanings. But does 天礼 sound like a Chinese boys name? Or should I stick with 天赐?


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## SimonTsai

'天禮' does sound Chinese and is typically for boys although not being aggressive. (Names with such characters as '強', '豪', '偉' and '振' are thought to be aggressive.)


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## SuperXW

dojibear said:


> I think 天礼 and 天赐 have similar meanings.


高天赐 is also good, but these two don't have similar meanings in natives' ears.
You may think they both mean "gift", however, 礼 in a Chinese name is commonly perceived by the meaning of "courtesy" (that's why Simon thought it was "not aggressive"), while 赐 is a verb "to grant". (天赐 means "granted as a gift by heaven".)


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## ovaltine888

There is a Chinese idiom 天赐良机 (a great opportunity as if sent by heaven) in which 良 means good and 机 means opportunity.

I think if there is a parallel for 天赐良机 in English, it is the word "godsend".


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## dojibear

SuperXW said:


> You may think they both mean "gift", however, 礼 in a Chinese name is commonly perceived by the meaning of "courtesy" (that's why Simon thought it was "not aggressive"), while 赐 is a verb "to grant". (天赐 means "granted as a gift by heaven".)



Thank you. That is a significant difference that I didn't understand as a foreigner. 天赐 is a closer match to "Theodore" than 天礼 is.


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