【正文】 Myra4. Cultural Differences between Chinese and English namesEvery nation has its own history, during which it has shaped its own particular characteristics. As a special social and linguistic phenomenon, names relate to cultures extensively and profoundly. Personal names are the products of the historical development of human society. They reflect the ancient civilization and splendid cultures from different respects. The choice of name tells something about human society and reflects the social culture. Therefore, the development of personal names cannot be isolated from the social culture background. Names are the inseparable part of culture and the inevitable oute of cultural evolution. Like other linguistic phenomena they play the role of carrier and propagator of cultures. In this section, a parative study is going to be made on these aspects between Chinese and English name systems. Family concepts The opposite orders of Chinese and English names are reflection of different cultures on personal names. Importance attached to Chinese surnames rather than given namesIn Chinese, the family name es first and the given name is placed after it. Chinese family names represent the relationship of clan, group and consanguinity。Roseanna b. Ananym, e. g. Agnes224。s maiden name as middle names. This is the chief way of borrowing names, e. g. Ronald Wilson Reagan, Wilson is Reagan’s mother39。福特), John Ford III(約翰re more than 100 Christian names from flower names, and most of them are not popular now.(3) Use pet names between relatives, e. g. Duke, Jerry, Elizabeth, Casey.(4) Inherit names from father and grandfather39。s physique and some for the special abilities. Small, Bigge, Short, Long, Bunch and Petit are obvious examples, so are Blackbeard, Whitehead and Armstrong. (5) From religion. People like to seek the protection of God. No matter how rich or poor they were, people from all levels liked to use Adam as their surnames. And later, it evolved other surnames like “Adams, Adamson, Adkins (Raton, 2000: 52)”, etc. Similarly, “Peters, Pierce and Pieter (Lansky, 1997: 166)” are names evolved from the name Peter which was the name of an apostle of Jesus. (6) From the title. We can deepen the impression through the following examples. Surnames related with royal families and aristocrats are: King, Emperor, Queen, Prince Lord/Laird, Duke, Baron and so on. While surnames like Judge, Sergeant, Sheriff, Jailers/Keeper were officials in charge of justice.(7) From other sources. Sometimes people’s names came into contact with certain animals. . Nightingale, Lion, Woodcock, Catt, Eagle, Lamb, Bull, Dove, Peacock, Hare, Crane, Fox and Woolf. Some may be obtained from names of plants, such as Rose, Birch, Pink, Reed, Stock, Rice and Cotton. Some related to natural phenomena, like Summer, Snow, Frost and Rain. Some are from the color, Red, Black, Green, White, Brown, etc.It can be learned from the above information that English surnames faithfully record the history and social style and also serve as an encyclopedia, which reflects the culture of England from different aspects. 3. Given nameGiven name is another essential part of a personal name, which also has profound traditional connotation which can be seen from the sources of both Chinese and English given names as follows. Sources of Chinese given namesFamily names are not selectable, but the case is different in given names. One can choose given names for their kids as following:(1) Names related to the birth situation, such as place and time. . Xiaoming(曉明, indicating born in the dawn)，Jingsheng(京生, indicating born in Beijing).(2) Some originated from employment of characters indicating birth order. Meng(孟, eldest among brothers and sisters), Bo(伯, eldest of brothers), Zhong(仲, second of brothers), Shu(叔, third of brothers), Ji(季, fourth or youngest of brothers) are the characters employed to indicate the birth order of children, . Bocheng(伯成), Zhongxian(仲賢). In modern times, “Ermei(二妹)”, Sanjiang(三江) are evident examples. (3) From the wish of parents. Yannian(延年,means longevity), Qubing (去病, means keeping away from the illness), Laifu(來福, blessing), Youwei(有為, acplishment), Zhaodi(招弟, ing birth of brothers),etc. (4) From the Confucianism. Zhong(忠, loyalty), Xiao(孝, piety), Ren(仁, benevolence), Yi(義, righteousness), Li(禮, propriety), Zhi(智, wisdom) and Xin(信, fidelity)are the essence of Confucianism as well as the crystallization of traditional culture of China. . Jianzhong(建忠), Liuliang(留良), Shouren(守仁), Yihe(義和).(5) From reflection of history. For example, Guoqing(國(guó)慶, National Day celebration), Yuanchao(援朝, Chinese aid to north Korea against the aggregation of American). (6) From the names of animals and plants, like Long(龍, dragon), Hu(虎, tiger), Mei(梅, plum), Lian(蓮, lotus).(7) Gender names with males being linked with strength and firmness, like “Yong(勇, brave), Wei(偉, great), Qiang(強(qiáng), strong)” and females with beauty and flowers, like “Juan(娟, graceful), Chan(嬋, lovely)，Li(麗, beautiful), Wan(婉, gracious), Mei(玫, rose )(Lin Shan, 1986: 29107)” and sometimes have names that repeat a character, like Juanjuan(娟娟), Tingting(婷婷). Sources of English given namesGiven names are usually chosen for people by their parents or other relatives, and in the west the most mon factors, which influence people’s choices are as follows:(1) Employ the name in Bibles, mythology of Greece and Rome and literary works or the names of ancient famous persons, . Abraham, Helen and Galen. (2) Use the name of forefather39。 Boatwright, Cartwright (wright indicates the occupation concerning with manufacturing work)。 names. There are two types. One is the transliteration of minorities39。 Yue Hongli, 2001).” The early Chinese adopted the names or symbols of certain animals as their surname, such as Long which means dragon. As a result of worship of such plant totems as Mi (米), Gu (谷), Mai (麥), S