Home » It’s All In a Name
It’s All In a Name – CHINESE
Understanding the naming conventions of other cultures is important for an investigator or for anyone wishing to certainly and correctly identify people in our diverse country. The following column is an attempt to assist the reader in correctly applying the conventions of uniquely ethnic names so identification is possible. This article should not be interpreted as indicating any unusual prevalence...
It’s All In a Name – Chinese Names
The main difference between the situation in China and Britain is that the Chinese have a massive number of first names but a small number of surnames whereas, in direct contrast, the British have a relatively small number of first names but a wide variety of surnames. The Chinese do not have middle names, whereas almost all British people do. The Chinese always put the family name first, whereas...
It’s All In a Name – Conclusion
This review of naming practices around the world has hopefully made clear that so many of the implicit assumptions that citizens of the English-speaking nations make about names in other countries are simply wrong:
It is assumed that given names come first and family names come last – but the reverse is the case in countries like China, Vietnam and even Hungary.
It is assumed that people take...
It’s All In a Name – Indian Names
India is such a huge country that there are many different naming practices and traditions and the main influences are region and religion. Indeed many people in India bear several names – a personal name, a patronymic, a village name, a caste name, and so on. These occur in a different order in different parts of the sub-continent, so identifying the personal name may not always be easy for...
