Which is the first name and which is the last name?

First name is first name, last name is last name. The names of China and the West are just the opposite.

For example: Li Guang? Li mingguang

Judy Lin? Last name: Lin name: Judy

First, the source of the surname

1, the origin of the Chinese surname

How many surnames does China have? So far, there is no completely accurate statistical data. There are 484 common surnames in Hundred Surnames compiled by Song people. The newly edited Thousands of Surnames has 3 107 surnames. In recent years, China Surnames Spectrum has collected 5730 surnames. There are 6,363 Chinese surnames in Taiwan Province Province. There used to be a large number of surnames in history, and now there are about 100 surnames in common use. Its sources mainly include the following aspects:

Take the totem of the ancestors as the surname, that is, take the names of the animals and plants worshipped as the surname. Such as cattle, horses, dragons, bears, Yang, Li and Lin.

Taking fiefs as surnames means taking dynasty names or country names as surnames. Such as Zhao, Song, Qin, Han, Qi, Chen, Guan, Cao, Cai and Wei.

Take the place of residence as the surname, that is, take the place where the ancestors originally lived as the surname. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, doctors in the State of Qi lived in four corners of the capital, namely, the East, the West, the South and the North, which gave them the surnames of the East and the South. Dr. Zheng lives in Ximen, so he takes Ximen as his surname. The legendary Fuxi lived in the East, and his descendants took the East as their surname.

Take the official position as the surname, that is, take the title once owned by the ancestors as the surname. For example, "Situ" was an official position in charge of education and culture in ancient times, and "Sima" was an official position in charge of military affairs. Their descendants took these titles as surnames respectively.

Take the occupation as the surname, that is, take the occupation of the ancestors as the surname. For example, masons are surnamed Shi, potters are surnamed Tao, witches are surnamed Wu, butchers are surnamed Tu, and musicians are surnamed Le.

Take the color name as the surname, that is, take the colors of nature as the surname. Such as white, yellow, blue and cyan.

Women in modern China keep their own independent surnames, that is, male surnames and female surnames, regardless of whether they are married or not. However, in western countries such as Britain and the United States, women generally change their husbands' surnames after marriage. Like mary white? When the young lady married Mr. John Brown, her name became? Mary brown and Hongkong women often put their husbands' surnames before their own after marriage. For example, after Xu Xiaoli married Zhang Xiaogang, the woman's name became Zhang Xiaoli. Many China people who study and work abroad often give themselves a "foreign name" in order to communicate with foreigners, but their surnames are usually the same, and they still have a "tail" of China culture. Many foreigners who come to China to study or work often give themselves a Chinese name in order to communicate with China people. Not only Chinese names, but also Chinese surnames. It can be said that the name has been completely changed.

2. The source of surnames in English-speaking countries

The surname system in English-speaking countries is basically the same. English surnames mainly originated from Anglo-Saxon nations, and spread to all parts of the world with the prosperity of the colonial development of the British Empire in the18th century. Although there are great differences between Chinese and western cultures, there are many similarities between Chinese and English surnames. Surnames in English-speaking countries mainly come from the following aspects:

Take the professional name as the surname. In English, the situation of taking professional names as surnames is similar to that in Chinese, but the scope of occupations is much wider, and the proportion of people taking professional names as surnames is much larger than that in China. Smith is a very common surname in English-speaking countries, because there were various craftsmen in early English society, such as Goldsmith, coppersmith and blacksmith. Similar industries include bakers, barbers, fishermen, tailors, hunters, butchers, sailors and carpenters.

Take the topography of the place of residence as the surname. For example, fields, hills, streams, alleys, coasts, lakes, jungles, etc.

Take natural phenomena as surnames. Such as snow, rain, thunder, frost, clouds, summer in summer, winter in winter, May in May, etc. However, there are few such surnames in Chinese.

Take animal names as surnames. There are also people in China who take animal names as their surnames, but because of their different aesthetic tastes, they choose different animals. In contrast, animal names are more common in English-speaking countries, and there is no lack of humor. For example, there are birds, fish, dogs, horses, sheep, cows, geese, nightingales, lions and foxes. It can be said that there are all kinds of wonders.

Take the words that express people's appearance and figure as surnames. For example, Longman is tall, short, hunchbacked, fat, strong and strong, Armstrong has thick arms and so on. There is no such surname in Chinese.

English-speaking countries, especially the United States, the melting pot of the world's nations, have outstanding values of doing everything unconventional, which is also reflected in their names. For example, it is really strange and incredible that there are people whose surnames are apple, orange, rice, wheat, corn, bacon, ham, cough, poison and ash. Of course, when we translate English names, we often use transliteration, that is, what sounds are read and what words are translated. For example, Sir .. Bird translated into lady bird, Miss Fish translated into Miss Faith, Mr Fox translated into Mr Fox, and Mr Strong translated into Mr Strong.

Second, the comparison of Chinese and Western naming methods

1, the naming method of China people.

China people's names are composed of surnames and surnames, with surnames coming first and surnames coming last, that is, "emphasizing surnames over names", which is related to China's traditional culture of advocating * * * and attaching importance to clan nepotism. Surnames include single surname, compound surname, single surname and double surname. Traditionally, most China people's names consist of two words, but now there are more and more one word. When people name names, they pay attention to both meaning and shape, and men and women are different. Men's names are mostly bold and broad, revealing masculinity; And women's names contain beautiful, virtuous and lovely words. There are many ways to name people in China. Each dynasty has its own characteristics, but it can be summarized as follows:

In the name of parents' expectations, sustenance and ambitions for their children. For example, the founding of the People's Republic of China, the rule of the country, the safety of the country, the establishment of the country, Jianhua, Yongqing, Yongkang, Yongfa, Changsheng, Chen Chao, Zhao Di, Zhijian, Zhiqiang and Kochi.

In the name of the season or weather at birth. Such as spring, autumn, winter, rain and snow.

Named after the birthplace. For example, Hengyang Health, Beijing Health, Shanghai Health, Yellow River and Yangtze River.

In the name of plants and flowers. Names commonly used for women. Such as plum, peach, chrysanthemum, lotus, lily, orchid, flower and so on.

In the name of birthday. This is the traditional naming habit of China people. The "heavenly stems and earthly branches" and "Five Elements" of the birth date are arranged correspondingly to each other. If there is a "line", it is named after the word of the line. Water shortage, the name must have the word "water" or "home"; If there is a lack of wood, there must be a word in the name or the word "wood" next to it, and so on.

In the name of the birth order of children. The Zhou Dynasty in China called the eldest brother Bo, the second son Zhong, the third son Shu and the fourth son Ji. "Bo", "Zhong", "Shu" and "Ji" are common names.

In the name of historical events. This is mainly popular in contemporary times, such as liberation, rebirth, defending the country, Weidong, Dongjin, Yuejin, Zhenhua and so on. A name with a distinct sense of the times may be the biggest feature of China people's names.

In ancient China, "name" and "character" were separated. A person is given a name when he is born and a word when he is an adult. People with certain status and status are generally famous. For example, Confucius, whose surname is Zhong Ni. Confucius is the second in the family, so he uses the word "Zhong" in his life, and "Ni" stands for "Nishan" in his hometown, echoing the word "Qiu" in his name. As for ordinary people, they are often nominal. In social activities, in order to respect others, we should praise words instead of names; When you call yourself modest, you say your name instead of your words. Some scholars often give themselves a "number" in addition to their names and characters. Such as Zhuge Liang, compound surname Zhuge, single name Liang, table character Kong Ming, road number Wolong.

2. The way westerners name themselves.

The names of English-speaking countries are generally composed of surnames and surnames, but the first name comes first and the last name comes last, which is just the opposite of China, that is, "emphasizing surnames over surnames". Some people have only one name, while others have two or three names. Generally speaking, it is first name+middle name+surname, and first name is also called Christian name. Middle names are generally not used, but only used in formal occasions or when signing documents. For example, Linda Jame Smith, for convenience, is often written as Linda J Smith or? Smith: Westerners and China people have similarities and differences in the way they choose their names. The differences are mainly manifested in the following aspects:

Take the names of parents and relatives as your own names. For example, the scientist Darwin's name is charles robert darwin, his father is robert darwin and his uncle is Charles Darwin. Adding uncle's name before father's name becomes his name. For example, American President Roosevelt and oil tycoon Rockefeller both gave their sons the same names as themselves. To make it easier to distinguish, add a junior after the son's name, usually abbreviated as Jr? Like franklin roosevelt Jr./john D Rockefeller Jr.

In the name of celebrities and gods in myths and legends. For example, Washington (the father of the United States), Lincoln (the 16 th president of the United States), Apollo (the sun god), Diana (the goddess of the moon) and Mary, David, Joseph,? Peter, John and so on. Are directly selected from the names of the Bible.

Christian names in English-speaking countries have nicknames or posthumous title. For example, William's nickname is Bill, Richard's nickname is Dick, and Elizabeth's nickname is Beth.

In English-speaking countries, naming is also influenced by social values, which is particularly prominent in some traditional names. When women choose names, they often use words that symbolize beauty, elegance and loveliness. This is similar to the naming of women in China. Like Allen? It stands for sunshine, Alice stands for beauty, Anne stands for elegance, Catherine stands for purity, Emily stands for diligence, Jenny stands for silence, Lily stands for lily and so on. Men often use names to express their strong, brave and noble character. For example, Andrew means powerful, Frank means free, Henry means ruler, William means will, Robert means bright flame, Charles means gentleman and so on.

Three. Translation of Chinese and Western Names

1978, the State Council issued a decision that all names and place names in the country should be spelled with the Chinese Pinyin scheme. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Tibet, or translated into Tibet. ? At present, the translation of place names in China follows two basic principles, namely, the name follows the owner and is established by convention.

1, English translation of China's name.

The names of China people have a distinct sense of the times and cultural significance. In order to preserve China's traditional cultural characteristics and national language style to the greatest extent, the principle of "taking me as the main factor" should be adopted in name translation.

Translate in the order of China's name. However, considering the readers' receptive ability and cultural habits, we may wish to take proper care of the target culture. All surnames are capital pinyin letters. For example, Wang Xiaoli can be translated as Wang Xiaoli. I believe that with the expansion of international communication, foreigners will gradually understand and accept the name order of China people.

Names that have been translated will not be corrected according to established principles. Like Soong Ching Ling? (Soong Ching Ling), Chen Jiageng? (Chen Jiageng), Sun Yixian? (Sun Yat-sen) and so on.

2. Chinese translation of British and American names

The translation of English and American names should also follow the principle of obeying the host and respect their traditional culture and language style.

Transliteration is the most important method to translate foreigners' names. But in order to make transliteration nouns not too long, some obscure sounds can be omitted. For example, Engels (not necessarily translated as "engers") and Elizabeth Elizabeth (not necessarily translated as "Elizabeth"). Foreigners' surnames don't need to be translated into China surnames to avoid misunderstanding. For example, Tolstoy Tolstoy's old translation of Shi Tao Dao is too China-like, while Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Gogol's old translation of Guo Ge Er seems inappropriate. The translated names of women can be feminine, such as Anne Anna and Mary Mary.

Translate in the order of foreigners' names, that is, the first name is followed by the surname. First and last names are marked by a dot "?" Separate. separate. Like Carl Smith. Carl? Smith, charles robert darwin Charles? Robert? Darwin.

Mbth, whose name has been translated, will not be corrected according to the established principles. In the past, the translation of foreigners' names was not standardized, some were based on surnames before surnames, some were based on the pronunciation of the first syllable of surnames and the surnames of China people. Such as Bernard Shaw, Bernard Shaw, Si Tuleideng, Joseph Needham, Lunaseri and Lu Wenxing. Although these translated names often cause misunderstanding by people who don't know the situation, they have been accepted by most people and need not be corrected.