1. Technical Aspects of Chinese Names
Arrangement of Surname and Name
The first thing to know about Chinese names is the arrangements of one's name and surname/family name. It is constant that - excepting rearrangement when the working language is Western - the surname is always placed in the front and the person's name comes after the surname. For example, Si Ye's surname is Lin. His name is arranged as such : Lin Si Ye, not Si Ye Lin.

[In reference to rearrangement when the working language is Western, many Chinese usually adopt a Western name to facilitate their work and to make pronunciation less of a hassle. In this case, the Western name goes before the surname, and the Chinese name follows after.

Four Character Names to Two Character Names
For China and other countries with a strong Chinese base, the number of characters in a surname can go up to two, subsequently the number of characters in a name can go up to four. (It seems that surnames with three characters are more specific to Chinese in countries whereupon Chinese is not prevalent.)

Names with three characters are made out of a surname [which is always one character] and a name [two characters]. In the case of Si Ye, like said earlier, his surname is Lin and thus his full name is Lin Si Ye. Usually we will call those with three character full names their names, for example instead of referring to him as Lin Si Ye, we refer to him as Si Ye. Most Chinese who are not from China have three character names [once again, there are exceptions].

There are of course variations to the following points, but I'll be covering more of the common practice.

Names with two characters are made out of a surname [one character] and another character.
These two characters form both a full name and a name. For example, the name Liu Bei. Liu is her surname. We rarely if ever refer to her as Bei, but rather refer to her as Liu Bei. Two character chinese names were more common in ancient Chinese history [for example, Yue Fei who was a famous general in Chinese history] and at the present moment is more prevalent amongst Chinese from China [this does not mean that Chinese from China exclusively use two character names, three character names are common as well]. [However, there is also a less formal way of referral, as will be detailed below in section 3.]

There are also the more uncommon four character names, which are made out of a surname [two characters] and a name [two characters also]. [More detail about two character surnames are located at 2. Limitations of Chinese Surnames.]

Writing of Chinese Names In Character Form
When Chinese is written in its original form [ie. Chinese characters], there are no spaces between characters. [This is excepting use in official documents such as birth certificates in order to distinguish the surname from the name.] This means that Si Ye's name written in Chinese will look like this:


LinSiYe

This differs from the Japanese way of writing names in its original form, whereupon there is a space between the surname and the name. For example, Seishurou's full name.


Kinjyou Seishurou

Romanized Versions of Chinese Names
When Chinese names are romanized, there will always be a space between the surname and the name. Once again, we bring in the example of Si Ye, whereupon his name romanized is Lin Si Ye.

It is also possible for his name to be romanized as Lin Siye.

The space between the two characters of a name is usually optional and depends on the person [rather, the person's parents]. However, there are cases whereupon spaces are needed between the two characters because without the space, the name would be pronounced differently.

For example, the name . When it is romanized, it is written as Xi An. Without spacing, it would be written as Xian, which has a completely different pronunciation altogether [it would also indicate that her name is one character, which is definitely not the case].

2. Limitations of Chinese Surnames
Chinese surnames are mostly one character, though we do have two character surnames, which are rarer. For China and countries with strong Chinese influence, three character surnames are not used. [Please refer to 4. Culture Specific Chinese Naming]. The range of Chinese surnames is definitely more limited than say, Japanese surnames in the modern day. Most Chinese people also descended from similar roots. This is not to say that certain characters are not possible for Chinese surnames , but more unlikely.

One Character Surnames
Common Surnames:
[Email if you can think of more common Chinese surnames in the modern day!]
- Tan / Chan /Chen :
- Wang :
- Wong / Ooi /Huang :
- Lin :
- Lee / Li :
- Liu :
- Chow / Zhou :
- Ng / Eng / Wu :

Italicised words are pronouciations and versions derived from dialect.
The Hundred Families Surnames - A good reference for surnames which also has alternative versions of surnames.

Two Character Surnames
Two character surnames are evolved surnames as opposed to the usual surnames which existed early on in Chinese history (most of the one character surnames). The most common two character surnames of the modern day would be Szeto () and Ou Yang ().

One will understand what I mean when I mentioned that they were 'evolved surnames' as I explain the origins of Szeto and Ou Yang.

The name 'Szeto' is one of the titles (two other examples being Szema and Szehon) that were given to different high-ranking officials in the Imperial Court in times of monarchy, and their descendants adopted it as a surname to indicate their lineage.

'Ou Yang' originates from a physical place. In the Qin Chiu Dynasty, Wu Jiang, the sixth generation of the Yue king (Gou Jian), died while attempting to attack the kingdom of Chu and subsequently his sons divided the territory Yue had left. [The history of this is MUCH more complicated and long, but you don't have to know about it because the origination of the name comes after.] His second son, Ming Di, occupied the southern part of the Ou Yu Mountain, which was called 'Yang'. Thus, his descendants took the name 'Ou' or 'Ou Yang' in order to denote their lineage as well.

3. Shortened/Affectionate Versions of Chinese Names
As like any other language, there are definitely affectionate versions for Chinese names.

Definitive Characters
Often, though not mandatory, names of siblings start or end with the same character. Definitive characters also tends to be either the differentiating characters, and/or the second character in their names. For example, two brothers I know.

Wen Hao
Wen Hui

In this way, their definitive characters is Hao and Hui.

In the event that the name of siblings ends with the same character, one will discover that the first sibling will be likely to have the common character as their definitive character. For example, Jun and I [who are siblings, just in case you didn't know].

Hui Jun [This is Jun.]
Yan Jun [This is me.]
Jun's definitive character - as you might have guessed - is Jun, because she was born first. In order to differenciate, mine is Yan.

Those without siblings usually will have their second character as their definitive character [just in case your parents suddenly have another kid. You never know when preventives fall through.]

These definitive characters play an important part when we involve affectionate pronouns.

Affectionate Pronouns
The most common affectionate pronouns are Xiao and Ah [actually written as A but we'll use Ah to express the sound and to eliminate confusion]. Xiao () means small/little, and Ah () actually doesn't mean anything. XD It is first and foremost used as an affectionate pronoun [though also present in some people's official names] and when another side-character is added to it (), as a sound effect [Chinese people say Ah! just like Westerners do. We also have Oh! And Wah! But those are completely different matters altogether.].

Use of Ah
Ah can be used in conjunction with a definitive character for a person of any gender and age. For example, we can take in case Wen Hao and Wen Hui, we can call each of them Ah Hao and Ah Hui affectionately. As said before, this is applicable for everybody [which led to its usage in certain terminology but we won't go into that either.]

Use of Xiao
Because the meaning of this pronoun is small/little, it is often used to refer to younger people or the youngest in the family [regardless of what his/her age is now]. For example, I can call Wen Hao Xiao Hao when he's say, 6 years old. 12 years old may be stretching it. Calling him Xiao Hao at 16 is a far, far stretch and unless you want to invoke some really weird imagery, you shouldn't use it. [Unless perhaps you're 70+, whereupon anyone up to the age of forty is young to you.]

Repetition
Another way of referring to someone is the repetition of their definitive character. For example, my aforementioned friend, Liu Bei, is also commonly referred to as [and she calls herself online] BeiBei. This is a more casual and affectionate way to refer to someone. This can be used for anyone in general. [But like all affectionate terms, never use this when you're NOT familiar with the person because it could prove to have severe, dire consequences. Especially if it's something to do with work or something.]

Shortening Names
When one shortens names, one basically takes the definitive character of the name. Do not, in any case, shorten the romanization of the syllable. Taking one of Jun's friends names : Zi Xiang. Do not shorten this to Xi or Ang. Even attempting to derive Shen from Sheng is not correct. This is because of the nature of the Chinese language - there are no syllables. Unlike English or Japanese, you cannot split Chinese into syllables. To explain Chinese in syllablic terms, you will realise that "A" is a syllable. "Ni" is a syllable. "Shi" is a syllable. However, "Xing", "Yuan", "Xiang" are all syllables on their own. Pronunciation is completely different though knowing how to pronounce "Xi" and "Xian" will aid you in learning how to pronounce "Xiang". The pronunciation of "Xi" or "Ang" is completely different from the pronunciation of "Xiang" - not just that, but it will indicate that it's made out of TWO words, whereupon if this IS the case, then the name should be written as Xi Ang to eliminate confusion.

4. Culture Specific Chinese Names
Names of Chinese from different countries with a lower emphasis on Chinese often have variations to the naming system of China and countries with a stronger Chinese influence. If your country's Chinese naming system has special features that differ from the norm, please do email me! I would love to add to this section.

Philippines : Three syllable surnames are existent in the Philippines, of which come from the Chinese immigrants who used the complete name of their patriarchs as their surnames.

Peranakan Cuture : The Peranakan racial group originates from inter-marriage of Chinese and Malays and are mostly located in Southeast Asia. Peranakan culture is a mix of Malay culture and Chinese culture [Chinese in their daily habits and in spirit, Malay in language, dress and cuisine]. Thus, some Peranakan who use Chinese may choose to shorten their non-Chinese surnames to a common Chinese surname and utilise the common character of this surname. For example, the surname name "Ramlee" may be shortened to "Lee" and the character is used.

5. Epilogue
Chinese is a beautiful language but it is also one of the hardest and most complex languages in the world as each character holds its own meaning and pronunciation and the number of characters are near-limitless. It is not your fault if you are unsure about Chinese names and naming but because of the complexity of the language, one must take care when picking names and referring to your doll/character. You could be proudly sitting there staring satisfiedly at your dolls' names but someone else out there who knows Chinese may be laughing to death [or crying]. Please exercise caution when dealing with foreign names and languages and never fear hard work and research in order to both make the name credible and to protect your fellow world-mates.

Advice for Naming Your Doll in Any Other Languages
It is always a good idea to ask friends or anyone knowledgeable in the culture or language of the name [if it is not a language you have grown up with and understand] when you're able to. They are very likely to know more than you even if they're not as familiar with their mother tongue because of their own names and the ability to in turn, ask their parents or others. Don't worry about bothering them, because it's also likely that they're relieved you decided to ask them and attempt to make the name credible and will feel needed instead of your naming the doll in the dark and they may feel hurt that you didn't ask them about it, or at a loss on how to correct the name for you without offending you and hurting you in turn.

If you feel you are familiar enough with the language and fairly sure the name is credible and can prove your stance after much research and work, good for you! - but still keep yourself open just in case you indeed end up being incorrect. Incorrect references and names hurt no one else more than you, whether you're aware of it or not. [This statement is quantified with the reasonable appeal to no man being an island, and even if you feel that it's your own business, please be mindful you may be showing disrespect and offending people from other cultures.]

On this note, please feel free to email us at tangled@silentragedy.net or Jun or me specifically if you would like some specific help on Chinese naming and proofing! We'd be more than happy to help - and it would make me really happy to know you actually read this far. XD

Also, Thank You! to the following people who have commented and subsequently assisted in making this guide more credible and interesting :
- Yapi for information on Phil-Chinese surnames
- Scube for reminding me of the presence of two-character surnames
- Feli, for information on Peranakan surnames.

And er, that's the end of my very long and very long-winded guide. Thanks for reading all of this guide! As said in the disclaimer, email me if you have any relevant info you think would be good to add, if I think it'll help I'll put it in and credit.