Many Mandarin learners tend to take a Chinese name especially when they live in Mandarin-speaking countries or engage with native speakers fairly often. Here are some cultural things in terms of picking a Chinese name. In Chinese culture, names usually carry good wishes for their owner. 强，斌 are a couple of most common names I have seen, 强 means “being outstanding among a group, which regarding capability”, and 斌 consist of “being educated well, plus showcasing abilities to be a general or military officer, or being physically strong that can overdo a number of people when it comes to a fight”. My name takes parts of the meaning of “original, capital(the most important),one”, which carries “stick with a dream or wish made by oneself when someone was little, and keep effort onto it until they finally get around to it”. In contrast with other cultures, people whose native language is Mandarin are likely to have too many options when they get to choosing legal names, a bunch of parents are not able to give their newborn babies’ names on their own that they prefer to seek help from experts who are good at giving names, even though they realize that people with various available names are around them in everyday life. The simple motivation for picking a special name that other people don’t use so much is at the bottom of that case. So it’s not strange to see or hear very unusual names over here, which you perhaps need some lookup to call out the names, then again, the certain groups did rack their brains to find a fascinating one to address somebody. Personally, I don’t like unconventional names at all. I am fond of common names or the names are not pretty “mouthful” at least, because they are easy to remember and pronounce. My name is simply made up of one syllable, I like it.That’s a fascinating reflection — and beautifully explained! You gave a real glimpse into how meaningful and symbolic Chinese names can be. I especially liked how you described the balance be