Frequency of foreigners with Chinese names grows, but not every moniker is created equal as some have strong unforeseen connotations
越來越多的外國人起中文名，但並非每個名字都合適，因為其中有些名字具有意想不到的深刻含義
Having a standard Chinese name is becoming increasingly popular among non-native Chinese speakers.
擁有一個標準的中文名越來越受到非漢語母語者的青睞。
Meaning is essential to a Chinese name, so it is easy to make a social blunder if one does not know the Chinese culture well.
中文名的含義非常重要，對於不了解中國文化的外國人來說，起名字很容易犯錯。
Giving oneself an English name has been in fashion among the Chinese for decades. However, as Chinese language and culture become more known among foreigners, the reverse - foreigners getting Chinese names - seems to be the increasing trend.
過去幾十年來，中國人給自己起英文名一直是一種潮流。隨著中文與中國文化越來越為外國人所熟知，情況出現了逆轉，外國人也開始起中文名，而且這種趨勢越來越明顯。
But just as Chinese youth may give themselves funny, awkward or sometimes embarrassing English names, non-native Chinese speakers are also very likely to fall into names traps when it comes selecting a Chinese name.
但正如中國年輕人可能會給自己起有趣的、奇怪的、甚至令人尷尬的英文名一樣，非漢語母語者在選擇中文名的時候，也很可能會掉入名字陷阱。
What's in a name?
中文名有什麼含義？
Chinese names have a family name, which comes first, and then a given name, which is usually a single character or two Chinese characters joined together. International politicians such as former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd whose Chinese name is Lu Kewen and current US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman (Hong Bopei), to celebrities like US literary translator Howard Goldblatt (Ge Haowen) and stars like Nigerian-born singer Uwechue Emmanuel (Hao Ge) and French-born hostess and actress Aventurina King (Jin Xiaoyu) all have Chinese names that follow this pattern.
中文名最前面的文字為姓氏，隨後是名字，名字通常為一個字或兩個字。很多國際政客、知名人士、明星、主持人、演員等都遵循這一規則給自己起了中文名，例如，澳大利亞前總理Kevin Rudd的中文名為陸克文；現任美國駐俄羅斯大使Jon Huntsman的中文名為洪博培；美國文學翻譯家Howard Goldblatt的中文名是葛浩文；奈及利亞籍歌手Uwechue Emmanuel起名為郝歌，而法籍主持人兼演員Aventurina King則選擇了金小魚這樣一個名字。
This more authentic structure is very different from the easier and more common way of creating a Chinese name based on the sound of the individual's real name. For example, former US president Barack Obama is simply written as Balake Aobama. The same goes for soccer star David Beckham as Dawei Beikehanmu and the Russian President Vladimir Putin whose Chinese name is Pujing in pinyin.
還有一種更簡單、更常見的起名方式，即：根據外國人的真實姓名發音起名，這兩種名字的結構有很大不同。例如，美國前總統Barack Obama的名字會直譯為巴拉克·歐巴馬；足球明星David Beckham的名字為大衛·貝克漢姆；俄羅斯總統Vladimir Putin的中文名音譯為普京。
Like in the West, a person's surname often comes from their family. However, given names are usually created by parents and grandparents and carry meanings that the older generation wishes for the child's future.
與西方相同，一個人的姓氏來源於家族，而名字一般則由父母及祖父母取名，承載著老一輩人對孩子未來的期望。
For a foreigner who wants to look for a Chinese name, it is usually easier to choose a surname since there is a book called Baijiaxing (a classic Chinese text composed of more than 500 surnames) where one can find the most commonly used surnames and pick anyone they like. However, because given names are a free combination of any one or two characters, it will be more problematic as the meaning is crucial.
對於一個想要起中文名的外國人來說，選擇姓氏通常比較容易，因為《百家姓》（中國經典書籍，內含500多個姓氏）可幫助他們找到最常用的姓氏，從中挑選自己喜歡的即可。然而，名字是由任意一個或兩個文字自由組合而成的，其意義非常重要，所以選擇什麼樣的名字就成了個問題。
If one does not know Chinese culture and phrasing well, they are very likely to come up with improper combinations that can refer to an unsavory meaning.
對於不了解中國文化和習語的外國人來說，他們很可能會想出不恰當的文字組合，令人啼笑皆非。
For example, on Chinese question-and-answer website Zhihu.com, a Chinese language teacher shared an experience where a male student in her class named himself Li Caihua unaware that the word caihua is often used to refer rapists and not its literal meaning of "picking flowers."
例如，在中國問答網站知乎網上，一位中文老師分享過這樣的經歷：班上的一位男同學給自己取名為李採花，卻不知道「採花」這個詞在中文語境中通常用來指代強姦犯，而不是簡單的字面意思。
Another netizen posted that one of her foreign colleagues' name is Adam Power, which he translated into An Dengpao. Though the pronunciation and meaning of his Chinese and English names are similar, the Chinese characters imply that he is an electrician who installs lamp bulbs, which is almost certainly not what he was going for when he chose the name.
另一個網民發帖稱，她的一位外國同事名為Adam Power，但這位同事自己將名字譯為安燈泡。雖然中文名與英文名的發音相似，但中文名含義卻暗示他是一個安裝燈泡的電工，這肯定不是他選擇這一名字的初衷。
There are also a few Chinese taboos that do not exist in Western culture. For example, in the English speaking world, giving a person a parent's or grandparent's name is often seen as something good and respectful, but in China, giving a person of the younger generation the same character used by someone of the older generation can be regarded as disrespectful.
有一些中國文化禁忌在西方文化中並不存在。例如，在英語國家，取一個與父母或祖父母相同的名字通常被認為是件值得尊敬的好事，但在中國，給後輩取一個和老一輩相同的名字會被認為是不尊重的表現。
An example of this misstep was posted on Zhihu by a Chinese woman whose friend chose her father's name as his Chinese name because "he wished to have a daughter as smart as his friend." To locals, this may seem disrespectful to her and her family.
一位中國女性曾在知乎上發布過一個這樣的例子，她的朋友選擇她父親的名字作為自己的中文名，因為「他朋友希望有一個和她一樣聰明的女兒。」對當地人來說，這是對她和她家人的一種不尊重。
A name generator is the most convenient tool non-native Chinese speakers can use to create their Chinese names. But it too does not always work.
名字生成器是非漢語母語者起中文名可用的最便利工具，但這個方法並不總能奏效。
A foreigner named Harry asked Chinese users on Reddit for feedback on his Chinese name Xiong Huarou.
名為Harry的一個外國人在Reddit網站上請求中國用戶對其中文名熊花柔給出反饋。
"I'm clueless as to what makes a name a good name in Chinese apart from how I identify with the meanings," he explained.
他解釋道：「除了含義之外，我不知道什麼樣的名字才能算一個好的中文名。」
The characters in his name, Xiong Huarou, mean bear, flower and tender respectively.
他取的中文名熊花柔的每個字分開來看，分別為熊、鮮花和溫柔。
"I am not sure if it works as a man's name, but a name generator came up with it, and I loved the meaning. I am about as soft and feminine as you can get. And the syllables sound somewhat like they are derived from my English name Harry." he said.
他表示：「我不知道這作為男性名字是否合適，名字生成器是這樣顯示的，並且我也喜歡它的含義。它代表著我溫柔又柔弱，音節聽起來也有點像我的英文名字Harry。」
Harry added that he chose the surname Xiong because his frame resembles "what the gay community may call a 'bear,'" and he thinks bears are extremely cute, and Xiong sounds more elegant than other names.
Harry補充說，他之所以選擇熊這個姓氏，是因為他的外形酷似「同性戀群體所稱的『熊』」，他認為熊是非常可愛的，熊比其他姓氏聽起來更高雅。
However, to a native Chinese, his name would be considered a weird name for a man because characters related to flowers are seen as women's names. The same goes for the character rou.
然而，對中文母語者來說，這是一個奇怪的男性名字，因為與「花」有關的文字適用於女性名字，「柔」也是。
What not many foreigners might know is that while the Chinese language, in general, does not distinguish between masculine and feminine, a few characters are often used in male and female names.
許多外國人可能不知道，儘管總體而言中文沒有陰陽性之分，但有少數文字還是約定俗成地在男性或女性名字中使用。
Is a Chinese name necessary?
有必要起一個中文名嗎？
There is an old saying that goes, "When in Rome, do as the Roman do." So, when foreigners live in China, do they need to have a Chinese name like the Chinese?
常言道：「入鄉隨俗」。那麼對居住在中國的外國人來說，他們需要一個地道的中文名嗎？
Metropolitan interviewed a few expats and Chinese in Beijing, and their answers differ.
《都會》雜誌採訪了一些居住在北京的外籍人士和中國人，他們的回答不盡相同。
Sandra Eberling (pseudonym) is from the US and has lived in Beijing for two years, but still has "not been in any situation where [she] 100 percent needed to have a Chinese name."
Sandra Eberling（化名）來自美國，已在北京居住了2年，但仍然沒遇到「（她）必須要有一個中文名的情況。」
Eberling has given herself the name Bingbing because she is addicted to ice, but when she tells her Chinese friends her name, they often ask whether she named herself after the Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.
Eberling給自己起了「冰冰」這個名字，因為她對冰有一種迷戀，但當她把名字告訴她的中國朋友時，他們經常問，她是在效仿中國女演員範冰冰給自己起名字嗎？
"I guess it doesn't matter that much because I once met a Chinese guy named Melon because he said he loved watermelons. Guess we think alike when choosing our foreign names," she told Metropolitan.
「我想這沒什麼，因為我曾經遇到一個英文名叫Melon的中國人，名字的由來是他喜歡西瓜。我猜我們在選擇外文名時的想法是一致的。」她對《都會》如是說。
Chris from the UK has a similar opinion. He has lived in China for seven years and got a Chinese name but forgot it.
來自英國的Chris也持相同觀點。他已在中國居住了7年之久，起過一個中文名，但已記不清了。
"I never used it because when you meet people and they ask what your name is, using a Chinese name feels a little bit pretentious," he said.
他說：「我從不用這個中文名，因為別人問你名字時，用中文名顯得有些做作。」
Kevin Richardson, who comes from South Africa, said though he doesn't think it's necessary to have a Chinese name, "If you plan on staying long enough, you will find a name or get a name eventually."
來自南非的Kevin Richardson則表示，雖然他認為沒必要起中文名，但「如果打算在中國長住，最終還是要起一個中文名。」
By contrast, Fredrik Vold from Norway finds a Chinese name necessary if a foreigner plans to get a driver's license or buy a real estate with the name on the title of the house.
相反，來自挪威的Fredrik Vold認為，如果外國人想取得駕照或購買名下房產，就有必要起個中文名。
Yang Ruoyu, a graduate student at Renmin University, said for her, it does not matter whether a foreigner has a Chinese name or not. She told Metropolitan that she has a foreign university professor who finds Chinese too difficult, so most of the time the students use their English names around him.
中國人民大學研究生楊若玉（音譯）表示，對她來說，外國人是否有中文名並不重要。她在接受《都會》雜誌採訪時說，有一位外國大學教授覺得中文太難，所以大多數時候，他的學生都會用英文名。
However, for those who speak little English like 45-year-old Wang Zhi, if a foreigner wishes to be remembered by most Chinese, it is necessary to have a Chinese name.
但對於像45歲的王志（音譯）這樣英語不太好的人來說，如果一個外國人想要被大多數中國人記住，就必須有一個中文名。
"Most Chinese do not speak English. I think that is why celebrities are more likely to have a Chinese name; they wish the Chinese to feel close to them," he said.
他表示：「大多數中國人不會講英語。我認為這就是名人會給自己起中文名的原因，他們希望能夠與中國人更親近。」
英文來源：BBC
翻譯：甲骨易