Posted by Lisa C on October 22, 2001 at 13:12:40:
In Reply to: question about my given name posted by Wae Wang on October 21, 2001 at 13:04:45:
Hi!
If you have a generational name then you should have have another name, Wang Wae ???? While some people only have 2 names, surname and first name, most people have 3 names, surname, first and middle.
Generational names used to be very common, but I noticed among my friends that they aren't really following it. Names were usually given by the patriarch of the family but as more people emigrate to the western world this doesn't seem to be the case and indviualism seems to be the style. Generational names were almost like ranks in that if you were related you could tell who was senior to you, junior to you and the relationship. Ex. My dad and all of his male cousins had the same generational name. My grandfather, great-uncles, and their male cousins had the same generational name.
Usually part of name is doubled, Wae-wae, as a pet name or in affection. In English I guess the equivalent would be to call a little girl Patty instead Patricia or Evie instead of Evelyn.
Who named you? That person should be able to give you the character and meaning. It's very hard to know the exact character of your name based on transliteration because of the different dialects and spellings people might use trying to pick the right letters to sound like a Chinese character. If you know what dialect and meaning then you might be able to narrow down the character if no one ever wrote it down.
Hope this helps!