Hong Kong name

Personal names in Hong Kong generally contain differences from those in mainland China due to a lack of pinyin standardization, ethnic diversity, and the presence of English as a second language.

Generally the Cantonese majority employ one or other romanization of Cantonese,^[1] However non-Cantonese immigrants may retain their hometown spelling in English. For example, use of Shanghainese romanization in names is more common in Hong Kong English than in official use in Shanghai where pinyin is used.^[2]

Chinese names and sometimes Chinese surnames in Hong Kong may be supplemented by or replaced by an English name when using English. As with the unrelated actors Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Tony Leung Ka-fai, Hong Kong names may follow an English personal name + Cantonese family name + Cantonese personal name format. The use of English names in Hong Kong is not well researched or documented.^[3] English names in Hong Kong can include names that are not often found in the Western world, with some examples being Rimsky Yuen, York Chow, and Moses Chan. Inspiration for English names in Hong Kong can come from the names of months, sports brands, and luxury labels. More conventional English names can undergo distortion by the adding, substitution, or deletion of letters, as well as the addition of suffixes like -son. They also sometimes come from mimicking the sounds of the Chinese name, like Hacken Lee from Lee Hak-kan (李克勤).^[4]

See also

• Origins of names of cities and towns in Hong Kong

References