So you want to give your baby or yourself a Chinese name.
The first thing you should know is that you make it the middle name. There are a few Chinese names that look and sound good in English; but many names that are beautiful in Chinese are simply alien to English. Leave them in the middle. Actually, since Chinese have their surnames first and their given names second, the middle position makes sense: the Chinese given name of your adoptee is always second, whether you read it the English way or the Chinese way.
The next thing you should know is keeping the name to a single word. When we naturalized our child, two adoptees in the group had this combination: an English given name, a Chinese surname, a two-syllable Chinese given name broken down into two words (and thus two names) and both parents' surnames (not hyphenated). Six names! What a burden. If, of course, a two-syllable name is pretty in English, then it can serve as first and middle names. But generally names should be kept to single words, like Xiaoming or Donglu (both lovely ladies' names in Chinese).
Now, how to choose a name? their are a number of approaches:
1. Keep the name from China (the simple way)
The name will always be a connection to her origins---very important to adoptees.
2. Pick a meaningful name (the complicated way)
Some of you want to give your baby (or yourself) a name that means something in Chinese. Admirable. Now, how does one go about this? You can look in Best Chinese Names by Liu Xiaoyan, (Wu Jingyu, translator), 1996 Asiapac Books, ISBN 981-3068-30-2. Or you can look at Name Your Baby in Chinese, by Lin Shan, 1988 Heian International, Inc., 1815 West 205th St #301, Torrance, CA 90501 (Tel 310-782-6268); ISBN 0-89346-304-3 . These books can give you ideas on how to choose a name that means something. Both are available from Chinabooks. I find the Name Your Baby in Chinese to be the more approachable and useful of the two. Best Chinese Names is aimed at so-called overseas Chinese, people who have some acquaintance with the Chinese language and are getting back in touch with their heritage. It is no accident, I think, that the book is from Singapore .
Look through, ponder, decide on a name. Double check it in a Chinese-English dictionary . Double check the name again with Chinese friends.
3. Transcribe an English name (another complicated way)
You want to transcribe an English name into Chinese. Look it up in one of the books above. Double check the candidates in a Chinese-English dictionary. This is especially tricky, so you really must double check the name again with Chinese friends.
4. Strike out on your own (pun intended)
Be warned: this is yet another complicated way.
Maybe you just want to name your baby or yourself something like "rose" . If it is an English name, you could look up the English name in one of the Chinese naming books. Name Your Baby in Chinese has more of these than the other book.
You can also find the translation of "rose" directly. First look up the word in an English-Chinese dictionary.
