Every mortal must have a surname and a first name, which are not only the representatives of human symbols, but also the main carriers of human information transmission. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, people cherish their surnames and first names very much, and our surnames and first names have gone through a long process of evolution before they become the "first names" that people are accustomed to today. In ancient China, there was no name from the beginning, but a surname, followed by a name, a character and posthumous title. Ancient people had many names in their lives, and each name had its own purpose and different meanings.

The word "surname" has a left-right structure, from "female" to "life" on the left and from "female" on the right. In matriarchal society, children only know their mothers, but not their fathers. Mother's surname is the only honorific title that can be decided by later generations, as "White Tiger Tong San Gang Liu Ji" said: "In ancient times, there were no three rigid and six disciplines, but the people knew it." Surname is a collective noun, a symbol of a family, or a part of a big family that is closer to a certain blood relationship.

Clans only existed independently before the Han Dynasty. It is a branch of the surname, and it is the clan number. All members of the clan take this clan number as their surname.

"Name" refers to a personal symbol with a personal brand. In the traditional custom of our country, the father decides the "name" one hundred days after the baby is born. According to the Book of Rites, on this day, the mother and the nanny took the baby to the main hall to see the father, and the father solemnly held the child's hand and named him. After the name was decided, the mother and nanny took the child back to the back room and then informed the relatives of the child's name. The father immediately told the news to his friends and reported it to the local governor for naturalization registration. Therefore, the naming ceremony is very grand, and it is the first major event in a child's life. Although this custom has disappeared now, the custom of giving children a hundred years old is still enduring.

From the perspective of the evolution of historical customs, names can be divided into real names, real names, scientific names, Zeng names, pen names and stage names. Birth name, also known as birth name, nickname and fine print, is a person's childhood name. Such as a second child, a third child, a baby, a baby, etc. When you grow up, you don't usually need it unless the elders occasionally call the younger generation.

Pen names are often aliases that literati put on their works according to their own preferences.

Stage names, that is, aliases used by artists when performing, such as Bai, original name and compound name, are Pingju performers, and their artistic style is called "Bai School". Judging from the concrete manifestations of the above-mentioned "names", they not only embody different appellations at different ages, but also symbolize a person's occupation, status and identity. ...

The appearance of "word" is out of taboo, that is, respecting the ethical needs of elders. When the ancients offered sacrifices to gods and ancestors, in order to show respect, they did not dare to call their ancestors by their names directly, which resulted in writing. So "Zi" is actually a name to show respect.

The ancients named names, and there was a certain relationship between names and characters, which set off each other and supplemented each other.

For example: Qu Yuan, the word Ping, the real name, Ping is the word, Ping is connected with the original word.

Kong Rong, the word Wen Ju, is integrated into one name, which means to achieve mastery through a comprehensive study. Wen Ju is a word, and the article became famous in one fell swoop, with brilliant satellites.

Bai Juyi, the word Lotte, Lotte and Juyi complement each other.

Counting, many people in ancient times had names and characters, and counting. Numbers are a very interesting phenomenon in Chinese name culture. There are many broad numbers, including nicknames, posthumous title and posthumous title. I picked the number myself, and someone else gave it to me. The narrow sense of "number" is another word and another name for a person. Posthumous title is popular among literati, and there is a certain relationship between names and characters, but there is no restriction on names and names. Posthumous title began in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty and died in the Qing Dynasty.

After the end of the Qing Dynasty, with the cultural changes in China, words and numbers were rarely used, and were gradually replaced by pen names, stage names and posthumous title.