How do the Chinese name their children?
There are no common Chinese names like John, Paul, Mary, etc. as in English. The Chinese parents pick seemingly random characters to name their children, provided it sounds good in combination with the family name. A boy’s name may imply strength or intelligence. A girl’s name may reflect beauty or elegance. Also, it is common for children to have a kid name, or a nickname that is used primarily by his/her family members. In the old days prior to the one child policy, it was common for parents to refer to their children by their birth order, such as “Lao Da” (Old No. 1) or “Xiao San” (Little No. 3). During the late 40’s and early 50’s, many parents named their children with characters meaning of “developing a new nation”, coinciding with the birth of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. During the 60’s and 70’s, many of the children have names with the meanings of “Revolution”, “Defending the East”, etc. in accordance with the extreme leftwing ideology during the Cultural Revolution
