Naming Taboos in China

Names, like an invisible thought, will gradually affect a person's luck. A good name can make up for the shortcomings of fate and alleviate some unfavorable things. Onomastics is a very profound subject. What are the common naming taboos in China?

The tradition of Chinese Han is very particular about seniority. Han people generally avoid the names of ancestors when naming. Using the names of ancestors not only disturbs the order of seniority; but also will be regarded as disrespectful to the ancestors, and the offense will affect the inheritance of the family. While, the names of saints are unbearable for the fate of ordinary people. Using them will put too much pressure, which is not good for one's own fortune.

Many parents give their children different names from others by using uncommon characters. Such characters are rare, not understood, and easy to be called wrongly, which will inevitably affect interpersonal communication. The aura of the name is not good as well, which can easily lead to strange habits and ideas. Unless the one having a very special fate, it is not a good choice to use uncommon characters in name.

It is not recommended to give a single-character name (a name with only one character given name). Single-character names are prone to duplicates under common surnames, especially in some big surnames, such as "张伟 (Zhang Wei)" and "王伟 (Wang Wei)", the duplication rate is very high, which may cause some unnecessary trouble and distress to individuals. From the perspective of Yin Yang, Five Elements and Eight Diagrams, single-character names are also considered unfavorable. A name with three characters is the most perfect, and single-character names are considered to lack emotional position and middle-aged luck, especially for women, which may affect marriage and emotional unhappiness. 

Names with the same two characters, such as 冰冰Bingbing, 笑笑Xiaoxiao, and 丽丽Lili, have repeated meanings, which mainly mean unhappiness and procrastination. Try to avoid them when naming, especially for girls, as they are often unfavorable to emotions and marriage. 

All things are divided into Yin and Yang, and names are divided into men and women. Some names look very neutral, and it is hard to tell whether they are male or female. Some females even use male names, which can easily affect the imbalance of yin and yang between men and women. With such names, men don’t perform well in career, and women’s relationships and marriages are usually affected.

Some names look good, but when read, they are homophones with some unlucky words, which can easily cause people to mock and joke. For example, 杜子腾Du Ziteng (stomachache), 胡丽经Hu Lijing (‌vixen‌), 宫岸菊Gong Anju (Public Security Bureau), 沈晶柄Shen Jingbing (neurosis), etc. These are of bad meanings, and we should try to avoid such unlucky homophones. Another type is names that are indecent when read backwards, such as Sun Zi Ke 孙子克（克子孙killing descendants), etc. Names with indecent rhymes often generate greater negative energy and will seriously affect the physical and mental health of the owner. 

Some names are difficult to read and listen to, and if they are not handled properly, they will be mispronounced or misheard. What is the reason? The words used in the names are almost "tongue twisters". For example, 孙州仇(Sun Zhouqiu), 夏亚一(Xia Yayi), Jin Jingqing (金镜清), Jiang Jiaqiang (姜嘉锵), Zhang Changshang (张昌商), etc. The name is easy to read, and the ideas conveyed can be smooth and the effect can be better. If it is difficult to read, the good ideas will naturally be affected. 

Vulgarity in naming mainly refers to the use of vulgar words in naming. Such as 石头(meaning of stone), 狗仔(meaning of paparazzi), 狗蛋（meaning of son of bitch）etc.

Most of the surnames in China are monophonic characters. There are also some surnames that are polyphonic, such as: [乐] which has two pronunciations of ‘lè’ and ‘yuè’. This surname will obviously cause trouble in communication. If the polyphony of surnames is an unavoidable fact, then the formulation of names can completely avoid this trouble. The pronunciation is indicated by the method of combining meanings. For example: Cui Letian, Meng Lezhang. The former uses "天" to explain that "乐" should be read as lè, and the latter uses "章" to explain that "乐" should be read as yuè. A considerable number of polyphonic characters in Chinese are commonly used with only one pronunciation. When naming such polyphonic characters, there is no need to worry about misreading when using them.