<p>The pronunciation is the same for the last names.</p>
<p>For example, 華 must be pronounced as huà for the family name.</p>
<p>When it is in the first name, it can be pronounced as huā, huá or huà.
They can decide it, so we have to ask for the correct pronunciation.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T13:35:47.330Z
Thanks! Can you name some celebrities whose identical given names are pronounced differently?
Ludi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T14:58:06.260Z
Interesting! Are the different pronunciations always different tones of the same syllable? Or can it be different syllables?
Nicolas Raoul
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T04:02:08.763Z
@NicolasRaoul Some are different tones with same syllable, some others are different in tones and syllables.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T06:30:06.503Z
@賈可Jacky: Interesting! Could you please give examples of the latter?
Nicolas Raoul
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T09:08:04.660Z
@NicolasRaoul different tones but same syllable: 任 (rén, surname/rèn, normal), 华/華 (huà/huá), 占/佔 (zhān/zhàn), 燕 (yān/yàn), few characters like this only.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-06-28T13:23:01.653Z
2020-06-23T08:17:20.973Z
2020-06-23T08:17:20.973Z
young99
<p>The pronunciation of a Chinese name is unique in almost all cases. Here are few particular cases.</p>

<ol>
<li>There are very few Chinese polyphonic family names, like the above example <strong>覃</strong>, it pronounced <em>qín</em> in 90% of the cases, meantime, it also pronounced <em>tán</em> as a family name. This case is <strong>rare</strong>.</li>
<li>There are also few Chinese family names are polyphonic characters, one pronunciation is used for family name only. Like my family name <strong>贾/賈</strong>, pronounce <em>jiǎ</em> as a family name, pronounce <em>gǔ</em> in other cases, as well as <strong>单/單</strong>, <strong>朴/樸</strong>, <strong>仇</strong>, etc. Almost all people pronounce these names right.</li>
<li>There are very very very few Chinese family names are made up with two characters at least, like <strong>上官</strong>, <strong>诸葛/諸葛</strong>, <strong>司马/司馬</strong>, etc. A few characters may pronounce differently in different names. <strong>万俟</strong> is a family name, pronounced as <em>mò qí</em>, and <strong>尉迟</strong> pronounced as <em>yǜ chí</em>, but, the family name <strong>万/萬</strong>, pronounced as <em>wàn</em>, also, the family name <strong>尉</strong>, pronounced as <em>wèi</em> or <em>yǜ</em> as a one-character family name. This case is <strong>extremely</strong> <strong>rare</strong>, people may mistake the pronunciation.</li>
<li>There are also polyphonic characters in given name, like <strong>茜</strong>, <strong>朝</strong>. When these characters appears in a person's name, most people may choose a common pronunciation first if they don't know which is right, or ask him/her directly or other persons.</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T19:07:07.547Z
Did you accidentally switch the pronunciations in 1? I’ve only ever seen 覃 in (non-name) contexts where it was pronounced _tán_, so I’m guessing _tán_ ought to be the 90% of the cases, not _qín_.
Janus Bahs Jacquet
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T03:57:38.630Z
覃 should pronounce *qín* as a surname exactly in most cases.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T18:33:58.827Z
2017-06-29T03:52:23.147Z
2017-06-29T03:52:23.147Z
xenophōn
<p>The Chinese names are unique and different in most cases, there are first name and the last name when Chinese choose a name for their kids. so Generally, a Chinese name is composed of two or three characters, Most people tend to have a well-known Chinese family name,  and this post will introduce the most popular Chinese family names for you.<a href="http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/most-common-chinese-family-names/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/most-common-chinese-family-names/</a></p>

<p>and here you can know the most common and best chinese names for boys,<a href="http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/chinese-name-for-boys" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/chinese-name-for-boys</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-30T10:30:48.837Z
Is it your website, or are you affiliated with it in any way?
Nicolas Raoul
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-30T08:33:51.827Z
2017-06-30T08:33:51.827Z
katherine li
<ol>
<li>Family names always have a fixed pronunciation, inherited from ancestry.</li>
<li>For given names, different pronunciations are possible, if a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteronym_(linguistics)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">heteronym (多音字)</a> is used. The actual pronunciation depends on the creator of the name.</li>
<li>Parents would avoid to use 多音字 in children's names to keep away from trouble in the future. Because unlike Japanese, Chinese do not list Pinyin in most documents or forms.</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-06-30T09:29:43.070Z
2020-11-20T23:44:47.520Z
2020-11-20T23:44:47.520Z
Harry Summer
<p>In many languages, you can not be really sure how to pronounce a person's name, so you have to ask them first, and remember. For instance, &quot;Broglie&quot; can be brɔɪ or brɔˈgli, &quot;中島&quot; can be Nakashima or Nakajima.</p>
<p>Newbie question: Are there any Chinese names with different pronunciations in Mandarin?<br />
If yes, what percentage of the population has such ambiguous names?</p>
<p>Or do all Chinese names have <strong>only one possible reading</strong> in Mandarin?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-29T04:21:15.807Z
I guess these answers gave the same statement, no matter how many examples they gave.
(1) **The pronunciation of a surname is unchangeable**, even a given surname character has different pronunciations for different families.
We cannot call 覃(Tán)某 as 覃(Qín)某. Right? Or I missed something here?
(2) **The pronunciation of a given name may be different**.
Farnz Seager
<mandarin><pronunciation><names>
Are people's names always pronounced the same in Mandarin?
# Are people's names always pronounced the same in Mandarin?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-06-28)

In many languages, you can not be really sure how to pronounce a person's name, so you have to ask them first, and remember. For instance, "Broglie" can be brɔɪ or brɔˈgli, "中島" can be Nakashima or Nakajima.

Newbie question: Are there any Chinese names with different pronunciations in Mandarin?  
If yes, what percentage of the population has such ambiguous names?

Or do all Chinese names have **only one possible reading** in Mandarin?

**Tags:** mandarin, pronunciation, names

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I guess these answers gave the same statement, no matter how many examples they gave. (1) **The pronunciation of a surname is unchangeable**, even a given surname character has different pronunciations for different families. We cannot call 覃(Tán)某 as 覃(Qín)某. Right? Or I missed something here? (2) **The pronunciation of a given name may be different**.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-06-28. Score: 7

The pronunciation is the same for the last names.

For example, 華 must be pronounced as huà for the family name.

When it is in the first name, it can be pronounced as huā, huá or huà.
They can decide it, so we have to ask for the correct pronunciation.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Thanks! Can you name some celebrities whose identical given names are pronounced differently?  
> **username_0**: Interesting! Are the different pronunciations always different tones of the same syllable? Or can it be different syllables?  
> **username_4**: @NicolasRaoul Some are different tones with same syllable, some others are different in tones and syllables.  
> **username_0**: @賈可Jacky: Interesting! Could you please give examples of the latter?  
> **username_4**: @NicolasRaoul different tones but same syllable: 任 (rén, surname/rèn, normal), 华/華 (huà/huá), 占/佔 (zhān/zhàn), 燕 (yān/yàn), few characters like this only.  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2017-06-28. Score: 4

The pronunciation of a Chinese name is unique in almost all cases. Here are few particular cases.

1. There are very few Chinese polyphonic family names, like the above example **覃**, it pronounced *qín* in 90% of the cases, meantime, it also pronounced *tán* as a family name. This case is **rare**.
2. There are also few Chinese family names are polyphonic characters, one pronunciation is used for family name only. Like my family name **贾/賈**, pronounce *jiǎ* as a family name, pronounce *gǔ* in other cases, as well as **单/單**, **朴/樸**, **仇**, etc. Almost all people pronounce these names right.
3. There are very very very few Chinese family names are made up with two characters at least, like **上官**, **诸葛/諸葛**, **司马/司馬**, etc. A few characters may pronounce differently in different names. **万俟** is a family name, pronounced as *mò qí*, and **尉迟** pronounced as *yǜ chí*, but, the family name **万/萬**, pronounced as *wàn*, also, the family name **尉**, pronounced as *wèi* or *yǜ* as a one-character family name. This case is **extremely** **rare**, people may mistake the pronunciation.
4. There are also polyphonic characters in given name, like **茜**, **朝**. When these characters appears in a person's name, most people may choose a common pronunciation first if they don't know which is right, or ask him/her directly or other persons.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Did you accidentally switch the pronunciations in 1? I’ve only ever seen 覃 in (non-name) contexts where it was pronounced _tán_, so I’m guessing _tán_ ought to be the 90% of the cases, not _qín_.  
> **username_4**: 覃 should pronounce *qín* as a surname exactly in most cases.  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2017-06-30. Score: 0

The Chinese names are unique and different in most cases, there are first name and the last name when Chinese choose a name for their kids. so Generally, a Chinese name is composed of two or three characters, Most people tend to have a well-known Chinese family name, and this post will introduce the most popular Chinese family names for you.<http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/most-common-chinese-family-names/>

and here you can know the most common and best chinese names for boys,<http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/chinese-name-for-boys>

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Is it your website, or are you affiliated with it in any way?  

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### Answer by username_7 on 2017-06-30. Score: 0

1. Family names always have a fixed pronunciation, inherited from ancestry.
2. For given names, different pronunciations are possible, if a [heteronym (多音字)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteronym_(linguistics)) is used. The actual pronunciation depends on the creator of the name.
3. Parents would avoid to use 多音字 in children's names to keep away from trouble in the future. Because unlike Japanese, Chinese do not list Pinyin in most documents or forms.


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