What’s in a last name?

Uncategorizedyvonne.liu.wolf

In the Chinese context it is logical that your family name, your surname, goes before your given name. First, Chinese culture is family centered. Those who carry your surname dead and alive is a far larger group than those who share the same first name with you. This idea also reinforces Chinese collective thinking that you are born into a whole, not born as a singular person alone in the world. In addition, this first identity is unchangeable and determined by fate and the cosmos. Unlike in the US, anyone can petition for a name change, surname changes do not happen easily in the Chinese world. Lastly, because your last name is considered the first gift you were given, it is understood in parenting expectations that family surname is preserved in good standing.


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About Author

yvonne.liu.wolf

Yvonne Wolf was born in Taiwan and educated in the U.S. and Europe. She has extensive experience living and working internationally (Denmark and Japan). She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Danish, and has studied Japanese, Spanish, and Greek. Between work and personal travel, she has visited more than 20 countries and well-traveled within the U.S. and Canada. She has worked with organizations and business executives focusing on communication strategies working with Chinese and East Asian partners. Among her many skills is mediating across cultural misunderstandings.