The full name of the Han Chinese consists of the surname and the given name. The characteristic of Chinese names is that the family name always comes first and the given name follows. For thousands of years, the father's name has been passed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, however, it is not uncommon for children to take their mother's last name.

Generally speaking, names have one or two Chinese characters, which usually carry the wishes of parents for their children. From a child's name, it can be inferred what kind of person the parents want the child to be, or what kind of life they expect them to lead. Parents attach great importance to naming their children, because names tend to stay with their children for life.