Personal name

It is nearly universal for a person to have a name; the rare exceptions occur in the cases of mentally disturbed parents, or wild children growing up in isolation. A personal name is usually given at birth or at a young age, and is usually kept throughout life; there might be additional names indicating family relationships, area of residence, and so on. The details of naming are strongly governed by culture; some are more flexible about naming than others, but for all cultures where historical records are available, the rules are known to change over time.

Name order

Since a name is made up of several parts, the order in which those parts are arranged can be significant. The order family name, given name is known as the eastern order and is used in East Asian cultures such as China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam, as well as in Hungary. The order given name, family name is known as the western order and is used in the Americas and Europe.

Related Topics:
China - Japan - Korea - Singapore - Taiwan - Vietnam - Hungary

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When East Asian names are transliterated into the Latin alphabet, some prefer to convert them to western order at the same time, while others leave them in eastern order but write the family name in capital letters. To avoid confusion, some always write a family name in capital letters, especially when writing for an international audience. Japanese names of contemporary individuals and Hungarian names are usually "switched" when individuals that have such names are mentioned in media in Western countries; for instance, Koizumi Jun'ichirō is known as Junichiro Koizumi in English. Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese names and Japanese names of historical figures are usually left in East Asian order; for instance, Máo Zéd?ng is known as Mao Zedong in English.

Related Topics:
Transliterated - Latin alphabet - Capital letters - Junichiro Koizumi - Mao Zedong

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However, for sportspeople, Korean names may be rendered in East Asian or Western order in Western countries. The convention apparently varies by sport. For example, names of Korean footballers and athletes are usually left in East Asian order (e.g. Ahn Jung-Hwan, Hong Myung-Bo, Park Ji-Sung, Sohn Kee-Chung, Hwang Young-Cho). Baseball players' names are usually changed to Western order; for example, Park Chan-Ho is referred to in the West as Chan-Ho Park. Golfers' names are also typically switched to Western order; the great woman golfer Pak Se-Ri is known in the West as Se Ri Pak.

Related Topics:
Football - Athletes - Ahn Jung-Hwan - Hong Myung-Bo - Park Ji-Sung - Sohn Kee-Chung - Hwang Young-Cho - Baseball - Chan-Ho Park - Golf - Se Ri Pak

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