Do not be surprised if you find yourself surrounded by men named Chia-hao (家豪) or women named Shu-fen (淑芬), because according to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior, those two names are the most popular given names for boys and girls respectively in the country.
“Chia-hao” tops the “market name” — a term commonly used in Taiwan to describe names heard repeatedly when shopping in markets — list for men, with 14,229 people having the name across the country. Chih-ming (志明) follows with 14,022, Chun-chieh (俊傑) with 12,695, Chien-hung (建宏) with 12,695 and Chun-hung (俊宏) with 11,812, the data showed.
Chih-ming was the most popular name for men in the last census statistics, released in 2010.
The women’s name Shu-fen remains the top “market name” this year, with 33,063 women in the country sharing the name, the statistics showed. Shu-hui (淑惠) follows with 30,935, Mei-ling (美玲) with 27,914, Ya-ting (雅婷) with 25,103 and Mei-hui (美惠), with 24,312 people.
While there is no clear theme discernible yet among today’s popular names, previous popular names have tended to reflect their times.
“When we break the data into decades, we can see there are different popular names for different generations and there are always social phenomena behind the popular names of each generation,” Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) said.
“For instance, the top three most popular boys’ names in the 1930s and 1940s were Cheng-hsiung (正雄), Wu-hsiung (武雄) and Wen-hsiung (文雄), which are all names with Japanese influence, because Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule at the time,” he said.
He said that in the 1950s, popular names were Chin-tsai (進財, “making a fortune”), Jung-hua (榮華, “prosperity”) or “Tian-tsai” (添財, “adding more money”),“because it was a time of poverty and most parents hoped that their child could lead a wealthy and prosperous life.”
In the 1960s and the 1970s, popular names for boys were Chih-ming, (志明, “having a clear goal in life”), “Chih-hao” (志豪, “having a great objective in life”) and Chih-cheng (志成, “accomplishing one’s goals in life”) because with more financial stability, parents started wanting their children to achieve more, he said.
“As a middle class has been created nowadays, the most popular names for newborn boys and girls often include the word “pin” (品), which could be interpreted as ‘quality’ or ‘appreciation,’” Chien said. “This is probably because parents want their children to lead a quality life or to show appreciation to the surrounding world.”
Meanwhile, statistics for surnames released by the ministry yesterday showed Chen (陳) is the most populous surname in the country, accounting for nearly 2.6 million people, or 11.13 percent of the population. Lin (林) follows with 1.9 million people, accounting for 8.3 percent of the population, while Huang (黃) is the third most populous family name, with 1.4 million people having the family name, accounting for 6.03 percent of the population, the ministry said.
“Some parents want to avoid giving ‘market names’ to their children, but in my opinion, market names are not bad names. Rather, those are names that are popular and liked by most parents,” Chien said.
Department of Household Registration Deputy Director Su Ching-chao (蘇清朝) said that while the majority of traditional family names are composed of one or two characters, there are family names with as many as three or four characters.
“Beginning earlier this year, we’ve allowed naturalized citizens to phonetically translate their names, instead of having to have a two-to-four character name in the traditional form,” Su said. “So we’re having more diverse family names with multiple characters.”
There is one rule to follow if a naturalized citizen of Taiwan wishes to phonetically translate his or her name into characters.
“The only requirement we have is that in official documents, the family name must precede the given name to avoid confusions as different countries may have different cultures when it comes to where the surname is placed,” Su said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS