Been wondering this for a while... most Chinese names have 3 characters, e.g. Chan Kong Sang, Wang Lung Wei, Fung Ging Man), but quite a lot of actors are known by two character names... e.g. Sing Lung, Ti Lung, Ku Feng, Wai Wang, Chan Shen. In all the cases I just listed it's a stage name, and their real name had 3 characters. Is this *always* the case? Or are some people given a 2 character name at birth? Is there any particular significance to having 2 or 3 characters in a name?

It's something I mainly started wondering when I started adding IDs to images, 'cause 2 character names are much less likely to return a unique hit in the DB than 3, so they annoy me :p

It also annoys me, for the same reason you cited.
Your question recalled an article I read last year that I found somewhat enlightening. It addresses specifically the mainland but it's still worth a read:

http://english.people.com.cn/200411/28/ ... 65399.html

Two-character names are especially common in Mainland China. Of the Taiwan and HK natives that I know, all have three-character (or more) names, and claim everyone they know has three-character names. On the other hand, quite a few (20%) of the mainland Chinese I know have two-character names.

Actually, it's more correct to think of "two-character names" as someone with a single-character given name, whereby there is one character for the family name--which is almost always a given, but sometimes there are two-character family names--and then a single-character for their given name.

I find it very interesting that the article Dennis posted states that most young people all have single character given names now.

These replies are in part correct, but I would like to offer some additional information. Hong Kong people speak Cantonese, one of the many dialects of Chinese. This is a real dialect, not simply putonghua (Mandarin) pronounced differently. They have different words for things, somewhat different grammar, and the name styles -- like the language itself -- are more "old-fashioned."

The three-character names (family and two given names, the latter of which usually add up to a concept: Bruce Lee was Lei Siu Lunhg, "Little Dragon Lee") are more "traditional" in a sense, just as the older style of writing the characters is used here (and in other Chinese and Chinese-speaking communities, such as Taiwan and Singapore), as opposed to the simplified characters now used on the Mainland.

The two-character names are far more commonly found (certainly more than 20%) on the Mainland. In fact, it is almost a way to determine where someone was born. I believe that the two-character names became popular (or, strongly encouraged) by the Communists after 1949 for obscure socio-political reasons.

Having said that, family traditions account for a lot: one of my girlfriends is from Shantou, she was born at the end of the Cultural Revolution, and she has three names. So did Deng Xiaoping, Mao Zedong, and Zhou Enlai (in pinyin, the given names are run together.) So, go figure. However, it is very unusual for a Hong Kong person to be given only two names (family name and given name) unless there is some strong family tradition requiring this.

Also, there are some two-name family names, the most common of which is Au Yeung, but most people from this clan are given two additional names, contrary to what was posted above.

Hope this clarifies things.

odresel wrote:Also, there are some two-name family names, the most common of which is Au Yeung, but most people from this clan are given two additional names, contrary to what was posted above.

I didn't say that; nor would I. You didn't understand what I wrote, so I've rewritten the sentence...

This is a bi-lingual website, and I think most of the key contributors here (i.e., those participating in this thread) understand Cantonese is actually more than just a "dialect" (in the sense that the term dialect is frequently used in English). On the other hand, formally written Chinese in Guangdong-speaking areas is essentially written Mandarin (although depending on the formality of the writing, there are many differences). This is actually quite a complex subject that we needn't delve into in a movie database forum.

BTW, the notion that somehow naming traditions and the use of traditional characters are "old-fashioned" is somewhat misleading. HK and Taiwan natives have no such sentiment...on the contrary, in some ways it's quite the reverse.

odresel wrote:The two-character names are far more commonly found (certainly more than 20%) on the Mainland.

Actually, I was referring to my personal experience and observation. But 20% is, in fact, quite close. It's well documented that currently newborn children are given two-character names about 50% of the time, and have been doing so since 1966. Before that it was less than 10%. So, overall with the extant mainland population it's probably in the 20% range...

Thank you all... it is clearer, and yet somehow more confusing

In the cases where a 2 character name has been chosen as a stage name, is it usually because of the meaning or sound-a-like meaning of the characters, or just a couple of characters that the actor or their agent liked the sound of?

MrBooth wrote:In the cases where a 2 character name has been chosen as a stage name, is it usually because of the meaning or sound-a-like meaning of the characters, or just a couple of characters that the actor or their agent liked the sound of?

Some or all of the above it would seem...

Ti Lung is a good example of a two-character stage name chosen for two separate reasons.