<p>Chinese in Macau are mostly Cantonese speakers. It is not uncommon for people to write last name before the first name in Chinese speaking regions. </p>

<p>In your grandfather case "Leo" would actually be the last name. According to British Romanization of Chinese characters "Leo" is most likely "廖" /liu6/ or 柳 /lau5/</p>

<p>Suening was most likely two characters written as one English word, that provided further evidence for 'Leo' (廖/柳) being the family name</p>

<p>Suening as  Sue-Ning make more sense than Suen-Ing because 'Ning'(寧) is a very common first name</p>

<p>The Chinese characters for 'Leo Sue Ning' could be 
廖信寧, 柳信寧, 廖迅寧, 柳迅寧, 廖迅齡 or 柳信齡 in Cantonese. </p>

<p>廖/柳信寧 seems to be most probable</p>

<p><strong>Edit:</strong></p>

<p>Suening wrote:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>Hi, I got my Gedmatch (DNA) results and distant relative has 梁 from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liang_(surname) is it totally different from the given above?</em> </p>
</blockquote>

<p>梁 in Hong Kong is written as 'Leung'.  "Leo" might be a pronunciation from a Cantonese sub-dialect for 梁. And it is a common surname.</p>

<p>Therefore, 'Leo Sue Ning' could be </p>

<p><strong>梁信寧</strong>, <strong>梁迅寧</strong> or <strong>梁信齡</strong></p>

<p><strong>Edit 2:</strong></p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>This turned a bit complicated as I leaned towards the 'Leong', more and more users were added with the names of 'Liu' (劉) - list; Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian, Liu Li Qun, Chang Liu, John Liu, Xiaoou Liu, Liu Shun Ying, Haoshu Liu, Ismayil Liu, Liu, Liu Su Hua, Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>So it could be <strong>劉信寧</strong>, <strong>劉迅寧</strong> or <strong>劉信齡</strong> then. Both 劉 and 梁 are very common Chinese surnames. It doesn't change the fact that 'Suening' was most likely  a two characters given name 'Sue Ning' mistakenly turned into a Surname in  the Philippine</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T06:09:29.423Z
Don't you think that the OP is able to remember whether Suening or Leo is his surname?
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T08:18:43.070Z
thank you @Tang-Ho! We are also trying to request his immigration records in the Philippines if it's not destroyed during the war and online DNA matching hoping may provide leads for us to re-connect relatives in Macao.
Suening
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T14:28:05.790Z
@Stumpy Joe Pete In my answer , I stated Suening was most likely two characters written as one English word, that provided further evidence for 'Leo' (廖/柳) being the family name. If the OP wrote "Leo Suen Ing" then my answer would be different
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T18:36:53.980Z
So your theory is that when he moved to the Philippines, his surname became his (legal) given name and his given name became his (legal) surname (which I'm presuming was passed on to OP's father and OP)?
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T21:35:19.783Z
@Stumpy Joe Pete, it is possible. Government officers  often make mistake dealing with Chinese names. When I was in Hong Kong applying an I.D,I wrote my name the English way  with the last name at the end "Tang Kai Ho" . The officer thought "Tang" is my last name and  called me "鄧繼豪" But my name in Chinese is "何登啓" . Imagine if I didn't know Chinese, my legal name in Hong Kong would had been  鄧繼豪 now
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T21:44:52.763Z
In Canada, no one call me 'Kai' or Tang Kai' like Chinese would. They all thought Tang is my first name, so they all call me Tang and it has became my legal first name in all my I.D
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-21T08:30:29.717Z
Hi, I got my Gedmatch (DNA) results and distant relative has 梁 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liang_(surname) is it totally different from the given above?
Suening
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-21T08:47:49.520Z
See my edit please.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-28T06:42:02.450Z
This turned a bit complicated as I leaned towards the 'Leong', more and more users were with the names of 'Liu' (劉) - list; Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian, Liu Li Qun, Chang Liu, John Liu, Xiaoou Liu, Liu Shun Ying, Haoshu Liu, Ismayil Liu, Liu, Liu Su Hua, Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian
Suening
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-28T06:52:47.227Z
@Suening So it could be 劉信寧, 劉迅寧 or 劉信齡 then. Both 劉 and 梁 are very common Chinese surnames. It doesn't change the fact that 'Suening' was most likely  a two characters given name 'Sue Ning' mistakenly turned into a Surname in  the Philippine. -- Answer edited
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-07T08:18:03.277Z
hi @TangHo, is this a possible name for male; Xuening Liu(刘雪宁)?
Suening
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-07T09:03:34.903Z
雪's Romanization  is 'Suet' not quite the same as Sue
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T04:09:18.210Z
2019-03-29T05:27:03.030Z
2019-03-29T05:27:03.030Z
Tang Ho
<p>just an update I got my yDNA (paternal lineage) results and confirmed that our family surname is '劉'. I'm still trying to figure out his given name from the paper trails. thank you a lot.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-16T02:59:07.500Z
2019-08-16T02:59:07.500Z
Suening
<p>My late grandfather left Macau, China to the Philippine to find work around the year 1918-1920.</p>

<p>In my dad's baptismal certificate, my grandfather carries the name <strong>Leo Suening</strong>. It's also common in the Philippines to conjoin their Chinese names into one (Suen + Ing) but we are not certain.</p>

<p>Given that he came from Cantonese a speaking region, Candidates for possible origins are 孙/孫 (transliterations from Sun) and 吳/吴 for Ng (Ing).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T04:47:06.137Z
Same question on Quora: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-origin-of-the-Chinese-surname-Suening-in-the-Cantonese-speaking-region-Macau-Hong-Kong-Guangdong
Mou某
<characters><etymology><cantonese><simplified-characters><surnames>
What are the original Chinese characters for the Chinese family name Suening in the Philippines?
# What are the original Chinese characters for the Chinese family name Suening in the Philippines?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-02-26)

My late grandfather left Macau, China to the Philippine to find work around the year 1918-1920.

In my dad's baptismal certificate, my grandfather carries the name **Leo username_0**. It's also common in the Philippines to conjoin their Chinese names into one (Suen + Ing) but we are not certain.

Given that he came from Cantonese a speaking region, Candidates for possible origins are 孙/孫 (transliterations from Sun) and 吳/吴 for Ng (Ing).

**Tags:** characters, etymology, cantonese, simplified-characters, surnames

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Same question on Quora: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-origin-of-the-Chinese-surname-username_0-in-the-Cantonese-speaking-region-Macau-Hong-Kong-Guangdong  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-02-26. Score: 4

Chinese in Macau are mostly Cantonese speakers. It is not uncommon for people to write last name before the first name in Chinese speaking regions.

In your grandfather case "Leo" would actually be the last name. According to British Romanization of Chinese characters "Leo" is most likely "廖" /liu6/ or 柳 /lau5/

username_0 was most likely two characters written as one English word, that provided further evidence for 'Leo' (廖/柳) being the family name

username_0 as Sue-Ning make more sense than Suen-Ing because 'Ning'(寧) is a very common first name

The Chinese characters for 'Leo Sue Ning' could be
廖信寧, 柳信寧, 廖迅寧, 柳迅寧, 廖迅齡 or 柳信齡 in Cantonese.

廖/柳信寧 seems to be most probable

**Edit:**

username_0 wrote:

> *Hi, I got my Gedmatch (DNA) results and distant relative has 梁 from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liang\_(surname) is it totally different from the given above?*

梁 in Hong Kong is written as 'Leung'. "Leo" might be a pronunciation from a Cantonese sub-dialect for 梁. And it is a common surname.

Therefore, 'Leo Sue Ning' could be

**梁信寧**, **梁迅寧** or **梁信齡**

**Edit 2:**

> *This turned a bit complicated as I leaned towards the 'Leong', more and more users were added with the names of 'Liu' (劉) - list; Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian, Liu Li Qun, Chang Liu, John Liu, Xiaoou Liu, Liu Shun Ying, Haoshu Liu, Ismayil Liu, Liu, Liu Su Hua, Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian*

So it could be **劉信寧**, **劉迅寧** or **劉信齡** then. Both 劉 and 梁 are very common Chinese surnames. It doesn't change the fact that 'username_0' was most likely a two characters given name 'Sue Ning' mistakenly turned into a Surname in the Philippine

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Don't you think that the OP is able to remember whether username_0 or Leo is his surname?  
> **username_0**: thank you @username_2-Ho! We are also trying to request his immigration records in the Philippines if it's not destroyed during the war and online DNA matching hoping may provide leads for us to re-connect relatives in Macao.  
> **username_2**: @username_3 In my answer , I stated username_0 was most likely two characters written as one English word, that provided further evidence for 'Leo' (廖/柳) being the family name. If the OP wrote "Leo Suen Ing" then my answer would be different  
> **username_3**: So your theory is that when he moved to the Philippines, his surname became his (legal) given name and his given name became his (legal) surname (which I'm presuming was passed on to OP's father and OP)?  
> **username_2**: @username_3, it is possible. Government officers  often make mistake dealing with Chinese names. When I was in Hong Kong applying an I.D,I wrote my name the English way  with the last name at the end "username_2 Kai Ho" . The officer thought "username_2" is my last name and  called me "鄧繼豪" But my name in Chinese is "何登啓" . Imagine if I didn't know Chinese, my legal name in Hong Kong would had been  鄧繼豪 now  
> **username_2**: In Canada, no one call me 'Kai' or username_2 Kai' like Chinese would. They all thought username_2 is my first name, so they all call me username_2 and it has became my legal first name in all my I.D  
> **username_0**: Hi, I got my Gedmatch (DNA) results and distant relative has 梁 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liang_(surname) is it totally different from the given above?  
> **username_2**: See my edit please.  
> **username_0**: This turned a bit complicated as I leaned towards the 'Leong', more and more users were with the names of 'Liu' (劉) - list; Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian, Liu Li Qun, Chang Liu, John Liu, Xiaoou Liu, Liu Shun Ying, Haoshu Liu, Ismayil Liu, Liu, Liu Su Hua, Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian  
> **username_2**: @username_0 So it could be 劉信寧, 劉迅寧 or 劉信齡 then. Both 劉 and 梁 are very common Chinese surnames. It doesn't change the fact that 'username_0' was most likely  a two characters given name 'Sue Ning' mistakenly turned into a Surname in  the Philippine. -- Answer edited  
> **username_0**: hi @username_2, is this a possible name for male; Xuening Liu(刘雪宁)?  
> **username_2**: 雪's Romanization  is 'Suet' not quite the same as Sue  

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### Answer by username_0 on 2019-08-16. Score: 1

just an update I got my yDNA (paternal lineage) results and confirmed that our family surname is '劉'. I'm still trying to figure out his given name from the paper trails. thank you a lot.


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