Highlights
- For many Chinese, it is easier to have an unofficial English name to avoid the embarrassing situation of being addressed incorrectly
- Traditionally, unlike in Western countries, a married Chinese woman keeps her name unchanged, without adopting her husband's surname
- Each year, hundreds of people born in mainland China abandon their birth names after relocating to Australia
He could have been Kevin, Steven, Tony or Andy which are among the common male names many Chinese migrants and students pick for themselves upon arrival in Australia.
But Sydneysider Zongyi Liang said he was determined not be overlooked when he arrived as “just another” migrant from mainland China in 2015.
He said he crammed when learning English, bought himself subscriptions to Australian newspapers to catch up on news and current affairs and even educated himself on Australian history.
“I do very Australian things. I travel all over the country to participate in Anzac Day events, and listen to the veterans talk about the history of World War II,” he told SBS Chinese.
The 29-year-old accountant said he even changed his diet, restricting himself to only eating Asian food three times a week.
But to achieve “total westernisation” upon obtaining his permanent residency in Australia, Mr Liang said he decided to legally change his name.
And Zyon Langford was his pick.
The search for a new name
A history buff, Mr Langford said it had been common for Chinese migrants to adopt British-sounding names to avoid being discriminated against during the White Australia Policy years between 1901 and 1973.
Mr Langford said he was inspired by those before him in following suit.
A by the University of Toronto revealed Asian last names led to fewer job interviews.
Zyon Langford at his Australian citizenship ceremony. Source: Supplied
"Whether it was to avoid discrimination or to make it easier for others to pronounce, I felt that if I was to change my name, it might as well be my full name," Mr Langford said.
And so, the search began for new first and last names.
Mr Langford said he became interested in the Latinisation of Mandarin Chinese names.
For example, the Latinised versions of well-known Chinese philosophers Confucius and Mencius had their names derived from Mandarin Chinese words Kong Fu Zi and Men Zi.
To follow the same process, Mr Langford took out the prominent sounds, “z”, “o”, “n” and “y”, from his Chinese name, and reordered them to form the Jewish name Zyon.
For his surname, he decided that Langford was the closest-sounding westernised version of his Chinese surname, Liang, pronounced Li-ung.
Name changes not uncommon for Chinese community members
Many Chinese people in Australia have shown willingness to officially change their names in Australia.
In Chinese culture, women do not change their legal names upon marriage. However, some may choose to place their husbands’ family names before their full names. For example, if Wang Xiu married Zhang Chen, she may be known as Zhang Wang Xiu.
Many Chinese people use a “westernised” version of their original Chinese names to adapt to international and English-speaking contexts. For example, Ly may be changed to Li or Lee.
According to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, 300 people born in mainland China on average each year for the last 10 years have officially changed either their first names, last names or both in Victoria (NSW recorded double the amount over the same period).
Jiaxin was among them.
After living in Australia for seven years, she said she officially changed her first name to Kayan before her citizenship ceremony.
“I prefer people to call me by my English name rather than my Chinese name because Australians always pronounce my Chinese name very strangely,” she told SBS Chinese.
Jiaxin (a popular name in mainland China) wanted a name that was less common so she changed it. Source: Supplied
Jiaxin said she always felt her name was “too common” in China’s south-eastern province Guangzhou in the 1990s. Changing it allowed her to feel more unique among China’s population of over 1.4 billion people, she said.
“Not many people have the name Kayan here. Whereas several people in my class growing up were called Jiaxin,” she said.
Backlash for officially changing name
Although both Zyon Langford and Kayan have both received their parents’ support in officially changing their names, others such as Gary say they haven’t been so lucky.
He said he received online backlash after posting his experience changing his name with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Australia on Chinese social media platform Little Red Book in 2020.
Gary changed his name through the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
In his post, he explained that international students in Victoria could legally change their name after a 12-month period.
Gary He shared his name changing experience on Chinese social media. Source: Supplied
"Your chosen English name is unofficial. You still have to use your romanised Chinese name for anything official, which is inconvenient."
He then shared that he could use his English name all over the world.
"You can use it to apply for a bank account and book airplane tickets. You can even register as a passenger on a train in China under your English name."
One Chinese parent replied to his post saying their children were born in Australia and only used their Chinese names.
Another citizen questioned whether it was “honourable” for Gary to ditch his Chinese name for an English one.
“I’ve been studying in Australia as an international student for five years. Never once have I been known by anything other than by Chinese name,” another person posted.
Most Chinese international students in Australia have English names unless their Chinese names are easy to pronounce such as Ming, Ting or Ling.
"You kids, my children were born in Australia and they still use their Chinese names," said a parent who responded to Gary's post. Source: Supplied
“But these names aren’t their legal names so often they have to use their Chinese names, which is frequently troublesome,” Gary posted.
Gary also had his new name recognised by Chinese officials. Source: Supplied
Importance placed on a name
Most Chinese parents-to-be choose names that embody the aspirations they have for their children.
Deakin University research assistant Fan Yang said there was a saying in Chinese culture that people’s personalities and mannerisms were mirrored in the meaning of their names.
Ms Yang said her first name “Fan” meant “ordinary” but symbolised her parents’ wish for her to live a peaceful and happy life.
Some parents in mainland China look to historical events for inspiration when naming their babies.
For example, many boys born shortly after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 were named Jian’guo, which means the founding of a nation, Ms Yang said.
More than 960,000 Chinese people have the name Jian’guo, including about 24 per cent of boys who were born between 1949 and 1959, according to data from China’s National Citizen Identity Information Centre.
The name was extremely rare for anyone born before 1949.
Fan Yang, a researcher and PhD student at Deakin University, believes everyone should have the freedom to change their name. Source: Supplied
“Aoyun”, meaning “Olympics”, was another popular name given to children born around the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Ms Yang said despite the profound importance placed on one’s name, “everyone has the freedom to change it”.
But nationalistic sentiments had led some citizens to lash out at people who had opened up about themselves formally changing their names, she said.
New name, new beginnings
Mr Langford said his English name gave him an opportunity to reconcile past negative experiences with his Chinese name.
He said his Chinese name was regularly mispronounced “Zongwei” instead of “Zongyi” due to its rareness.
Growing up, Chinese people would say my name wrong, then in Australia, they would also pronounce it incorrectly.
“So, I wanted a new beginning. I took the initiative to make a change rather than hold on to my culture [through my name]," he said.
Mr Langford said racists would always judge people like him as an outsider by the colour of his skin, features, and accent, but that he was ultimately satisfied with his decision to change his name.
“As a migrant, I think you ultimately need to establish a new identity,” he said.
In Mr Langford’s case, a name change has brought its benefits.
“Kind and open-minded people start naturally accepting you. You don’t need to keep proving you are one of them,” he said.
