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Choosing a Chinese name before studying in Shanghai — not sure if I did it right

john wud

By john wud
in General Study Advice and Discussion

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john wud

john wud

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I’m an international student, and I’ll be starting my studies at Fudan University in China soon. As my departure gets closer, I’ve been thinking more about practical and cultural details — one of them is choosing a Chinese name.

I didn’t want to randomly pick something that just sounds nice. From what I’ve learned, Chinese names usually follow certain habits in sound, structure, and meaning, and some names that look good on paper can feel strange to native speakers.

I don’t have many Chinese friends yet, so I tried to research on my own. While searching on Google, I came across a site that focuses on Chinese naming logic and cultural explanations:
https://chinesenamehub.com

Based on what I read there, I ended up choosing the name 洛华. I like the sound and the imagery, but honestly, I’m still not fully confident whether it feels natural or appropriate in real life.

Since many people here have more experience with Chinese language and culture, I wanted to ask:
Does 洛华 sound reasonable as a Chinese name?
Or are there things a foreign student like me might be overlooking?

I’d really appreciate any honest feedback. Thank you!

vellocet

vellocet

Posted
Posted

You're putting the cart before the horse.  

The only reason you even have a Chinese name is so Chinese people who don't speak English can talk to you.

Foreigners don't choose their own names, they always end up with dumb ones. Your teacher will give you one or when you get Chinese friends they'll come up with one. 

So many treat it as a rule that the Chinese name must sound like or have the same meaning as the English one, which is wholly false. 

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Lu

Lu

Posted
Posted
On 12/20/2025 at 2:07 PM, john wud said:

Does 洛华 sound reasonable as a Chinese name?

I'm not sure, I have a feeling it's mixing imagery, putting two different geographic words together where they perhaps shouldn't. It's also quite a choice for a foreigner to call himself 华. It's not unheard-of, but it sticks out. But I'm not Chinese and not an expert on names.

 

If you want Luo for a surname, consider the much more common 罗. If you pick 洛 everyone will first be writing it 罗 anyway, especially in the beginning when your tones are bad, and you have to correct people all the time.

 

But Vellocet is right that this is not something you have to do before you get to China. You can just use your actual name, or if you really must have something in characters, a transliteration. Once you meet someone who cares enough to take the time to pick out something nice for you, ask that person (teacher, friend, host mom, whoever) to pick a name for you. It'll be better than what you can come up with yourself, and you'll always have a nice story about the person who chose it.

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