【正文】 buted a lot to my thesis. It was under her useful instructions, patient guidance and detailed revision that this thesis could finally assume its present shape. Without these, the pletion of this thesis would not have been possible. A special acknowledgement should be shown to Mr. Tian Minggang who taught us how to do the reference last term. I am particularly indebted to Bob and Gerry who offered some useful information. Finally, I wish to extend my thanks to the reference room of Foreign Language Department where I found the important information, and the library assistant who helped to supplied me with reference materials of great value. Abstract Personal names refer to the symbols indicating each particular member in the society. As an essential part of human language, personal names are playing a very dominant role in the munication. China and Englishspeaking countries have shaped different naming systems, which involve almost every aspect of human society, such as history, geography, economy, politics, etc. At the same time, as carriers of cultures, Chinese and English names are full of cultural connotations, and result in cultural gap between Chinese and English. Personal names are not only symbols that distinguish one person from others, but also social symbols. It is “a mirror of culture”. Through parative study from the sources of Chinese and English names to family concepts, values, religious beliefs, bynames, different cultural connotations between Chinese and English names are clearly revealed. In Chinese names, the culture of Confucianworship, hierarchy can be found, so can the religion, personalorientation, individualism be found in English names. By parison and through analysis, it can be concluded that name is a sign as well as an information window, through which people may better perceive a society and its culture in various aspects, and that the development of personal name system synchronizes with the improvement of society and the development of culture. That is to say, the development of names can show the changing of society in different times, and the development of culture in turn influences the process of naming and leaves its marks on names. So names are windows to see through different cultures. And it is the variety of culture that leads to the differences in Chinese and English personal name systems. A probe into this linguistic phenomenon of names helps people to broaden the knowledge on Chinese and English names and to enhance mutual understanding and munication between eastern and western culture. Key Words: Chinese and English names cultural connotation cultural differences摘 要姓名是指人類(lèi)社會(huì)中每一個(gè)具體成員的正式的代指符號(hào)。同時(shí)，姓名作為一種文化載體，蘊(yùn)涵著極其豐富的文化內(nèi)涵，漢英姓名因而存在著巨大的文化差異。而英語(yǔ)民族的宗教信仰，個(gè)人取向，強(qiáng)調(diào)個(gè)性也在英語(yǔ)姓名中有所反映。而正是文化的多樣性,導(dǎo)致英漢姓名的差異。ng)(Net. 2).” After population of a clan multiplied, the clan was divided into several branches and moved to different places to live. Then each branch would get their own branch name to distinguish this branch from the others. The name of each branch is called氏(sh236。ng” and “sh236。”, and the ordinary people had no “sh236?！?disappeared in Qin and Han Dynasty. They became one that is called “x236。” were of no significance after the centralized feudal social system was established. Chinese surname sourcesToday, there are over 700 different Chinese family names, but as few as twenty cover a majority of Chinese people. Most Chinese family names have only one character, but there are a few with two. Generally speaking, there are some viewpoints about the origin of family name at present. They are:(1) From the maternal line. The Chinese have had surnames long before the period of the Three Emperors and Five Kings (21st century BC), that is, during the time when recognition was given only to one39。s official position and occupations. The clanname derived from the title granted, sometimes by the emperor to a noble for an achievement, such as:Si Ma(司馬): official in charge of military affairsQian(錢(qián)): official in charge of moneyZhu(祝): official in charge of the sacrificial ritesZhong(鐘): official in charge of music Gu Zhen(賈正): business manYe(冶): blacksmith and Yu(漁): fisherman(6) From minorities39。 Stoneman, Carrier, Carpernter, Chalker, Painter, Cover, Pitcher, Plumb are surnames evolved from occupations of building industry. Crapper/Cropper, shear, Woolsorter, Landrey/Laver, Steeper, Spinner, Twiner, Weaver, Dyer and Lester are surnames evolved from occupations of other industries.(2) From place name. Place names were often taken as a surname. They were derived from the name of the place where one resided or from a geographic description of the place, such as London, Churchill, Moor, Wood and Hill. Various suffixes which indicate a topographical feature are lee (meadow), bank, don (town), field, house, and thorp (village).(3) From the father’s name. In America, 58% of surnames are formed by saying whose son is, using the given name of the father, such as Johnson, Wilson, Anderson, Richardson, Michelson, Tennyson, Jones, Williams, Davis, Thomas and so on. “son” means son, thus Jackson is the son of Jack, so are “s”, “mac/mc” and “o”.(4) From a descriptive nickname. These types of surnames were often used to describe something unusual about an ancestor39。s and always be added “Jr.” and numerals to it. It means “Little…’’, e. g. John Ford Jr.(小約翰s maiden name.(6) Employ new skill to make new Christian names. There are three ways: a. Compounded word, e. g. Rose+Anna224。 traditional Chinese culture emphasizes the generality. Therefore, in this kind of culture atmosphere, Chinese people put their family names which represent their ancestors, clans and groups before their given names, which symbol person individuality. The first question to start up a conversation between two strangers usually is “您貴姓?(what is your family name?)” Then one may introduce himself like “我姓陳,叫陳勇.(my family nam