Oddly, while this name-changing phenomenon is quite common among Chinese but doesn't seem to be as common among other ethnic groups (as a means of comparison, the Japanese in particular come to mind).

I've always gone with my given name of Lun Zhang (or Zhang Lun, if you want to be pedantic...) and have never seen any logical reason why I should change it. My parents chose my name when I was born. It is a part of my identity and crucially for me, a connection to my Chinese heritage.

Yes, the pronounciation of my name does occassionally get mangled by people from a non-Chinese speaking background (i.e. the majority of my friends). Yes, it isn't common and quickly sets me apart (which I would view as a positive thing). But the fact of the matter is, I've never ever encountered a time where my Chinese name has proven to be a hindrance. Or conversely, I've never been in a situation where I've felt it necessary to have an 'English' name.

My question is this: why do you feel it necessary to change your name and not just use the pinyin equivalent of your actual Chinese name?

Hi all,

I was born in Wuhan, China but left the 'mother country' for Australia at the age of 3. Although I spent the majority of my early childhood in Sydney, I count Bendigo (a country town in the state of Victoria) as my hometown. I studied Commerce/Information Systems with a major in Finance at the University of Melbourne and currently work as an equities analyst for a global Investment Bank.

Unlike the rest of the blog team, English is my first language. In fact, my Chinese is quite bad (and quickly deteriorating from lack of usage...). My familiarity with China and all things Chinese is limited to the stories my parents tell and the odd trip to China to visit friends/relatives. Hopefully, I will be able to contribute a differing perspective to ifgogo and stir up some discussion and debate. I'm looking forward to seeing the rise and rise of ifgogo.