Ever so often I come across wonderful Chinese names and meanings. They really put a smile on your face, don't they? And then I tell myself, the parents must be learned folks.

Well, choosing auspicious Chinese names is simple. If you know the way and step-by-step method. This page show you one of the ways that I use. Once you know it, someone will think you are a learned parent the next time they read your child's name.

First, let me share a story. My parents named my brother - Shou Cai 寿财. After consulting a master on the name. He explained that the word Shou 寿 which means longevity when combined with Cai 财 (wealth) just didn't seem right. Taking the names apart and looking at each word is fine. When combined, they sound weird. How weird? Chinese names and meanings can take a different swing when you failed to read between the lines. There may be some hidden ideas.

The longevity 寿 word is usually written on a big white lantern at Chinese funerals. And the word for coffin in Chinese is guan cai 棺材. The last word sounds the same as wealth cai 财. Do you see how weird it is now when you put longevity (seen at funeral) and wealth (sounding like coffin) together? It's not just weird, it is inauspicious. A newborn baby signifies birth. Who wants to associate it with death?

The master then suggested my parents to change the name to Shou Yuan 首源. Shou Cai 首财 (just changing the shou 寿 word) still didn't sound right. Thus a totally new name was chosen. The middle name Shou's 首 sound was maintained as close as he could.

My original name was Shou Rong 寿荣. Shou 寿 was my generation name. Since that middle (generation) name didn't sound right for my brother, mine was changed too. And it became Shou Rong 首荣.

Ah, that was my first lesson in selecting auspicious Chinese names.

You can see that many Chinese words have nice meaning. But think twice and look from all angle when you put them together. Don't make the same mistake my parents did. Think about the Chinese names and meanings carefully.