Editing Chinese surname (section)

==Usage==

Chinese surnames or family names are written ''before'' the first name or [[Chinese given name|given name]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.asiamediacentre.org.nz/features/explainer-chinese-names/ |title=A basic guide to Chinese names |first=Shao |last=Wei|date=24 September 2018 |work=Asia Media Centre}}</ref> Therefore, someone named Wei ({{linktext|伟}}) from the [[Zhang (surname)|Zhang]] ({{linktext|张}}) family is called "Zhang Wei" ([[Zhang Wei (disambiguation)|张伟]]) and not "Wei Zhang". Chinese women generally retain their maiden name and use their name unchanged after marriage, but in modern times in some communities, some women may choose to attach their husband's surname to the front.<ref name="fbiic">{{cite web |url=https://www.fbiic.gov/public/2008/nov/Naming_practice_guide_UK_2006.pdf |title=A guide to names and naming practices |date=March 2006 |pages=58–62 |work= FBIIC}}</ref> Chinese surname is [[patrilinear]] where the father's surname is passed on to his children, but more recently some people have opted to use both parents' surnames; although this practice has increased in recent times, it is still relatively uncommon in China, with those who adopted both parents' surnames numbering at only 1.1 million in 2018 (up from 118,000 in 1990).<ref name=gbtimes />

Some Chinese outside of mainland China, particularly those from the Chinese immigrant communities around the world and those who have acquired a Christian or Western first name, have adopted the Western convention when giving their name in English, placing their surname last. Examples of those commonly known in the West include [[Jackie Chan]] (Chinese name Chan Kong-sang), [[Jimmy Choo]] (Chinese name Choo Yeang Keat), and [[Yo-Yo Ma]]. Those with a Western first name can write their name in English in various ways – some may add the Western first name in front and the Chinese given name last (the surname is therefore in the middle), or fully Westernised with both the Western and Chinese given names before the Chinese surname.<ref name="fbiic"/> Examples include [[Carrie Lam]], originally named Cheng Yuet-ngor (Cheng is the surname), but who has acquired her husband's surname Lam and a Western first name as Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Due to the different spelling conventions and dialects as well as the different spelling preferences in the various countries these Chinese find themselves in, many people of the same Chinese surname can appear differently when written in English, for example the [[Lin (surname)|Lin surname]] (林) may also appear as Lam ([[Cantonese]]) or Lim ([[Hokkien]]). Some Chinese surnames that appear to be the same written in English may also be different in Chinese due to different characters having the same or similar pronunciations, dialectal differences, or non-standard romanizations (see section on variation in romanization below).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGAClRACrsYC&pg=PA9 |title=Chinese American Names: Tradition and Transition |author= Emma Woo Louie |pages=7&ndash;10 |publisher=McFarland & Co |date= 2008|isbn=978-0786438778 }}</ref><ref name=oxford>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AyDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1583 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland |editor1= Patrick Hanks |editor2=Richard Coates |editor3=Peter McClure |pages=470, 484, 1583, 1591, 2991 |publisher=OUP Oxford|date= 2016|isbn=978-0199677764}}</ref>