I am Chinese. Which name is my surname and which is my last name, for a flight booking?









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My name is Minnie Wong Qin Qing. If I put Wong as my surname, and the others as my last name, finally the full name will be:



Minnie Qin Qing Wong.



So what can I do?










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  • 24




    surname = last name = family name. Depending on the form, if WONG is your family name / surname, you could put Qin Qing Minnie, Minnie Qin Qing or other variations by leaving off Minnie. Do you have a passport already? Then you should use the same thing that's on the passport.
    – mkennedy
    Sep 1 '17 at 13:04






  • 21




    Some of my colleagues would write this as Qin Qing (Minnie) WONG to make it absolutely clear that you have chosen to be called Minnie by non-Chinese speakers (assuming that is true of course).
    – mdewey
    Sep 1 '17 at 13:14






  • 24




    If you don't have "Minnie" as a name in your passport, it's very important to NOT write it in the reservation.
    – RoboKaren
    Sep 1 '17 at 23:55






  • 4




    Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you actually have 2 names: the Chinese name "Qin Qing" and the westernized name "Minnie Wong"?
    – Andrew T.
    Sep 2 '17 at 8:10







  • 7




    @AndrewT. Presumably (Mandarin) Chinese Wang/Huang Qin Qing and westernised Minnie Wong. The version given here is an odd mixture, since Wong is the Jyutping/Yale/Hong Kong transcription (i.e., based on Cantonese pronunciation) of either 王 wáng or 黄 huáng (most commonly), while Qin Qing is Pinyin (i.e., based on Mandarin). In Chinese, the name would be written in characters throughout, but it’s not common—as far as I know—to westernise names transcribing from different languages within the same name.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Sep 2 '17 at 10:30















up vote
58
down vote

favorite
4












My name is Minnie Wong Qin Qing. If I put Wong as my surname, and the others as my last name, finally the full name will be:



Minnie Qin Qing Wong.



So what can I do?










share|improve this question



















  • 24




    surname = last name = family name. Depending on the form, if WONG is your family name / surname, you could put Qin Qing Minnie, Minnie Qin Qing or other variations by leaving off Minnie. Do you have a passport already? Then you should use the same thing that's on the passport.
    – mkennedy
    Sep 1 '17 at 13:04






  • 21




    Some of my colleagues would write this as Qin Qing (Minnie) WONG to make it absolutely clear that you have chosen to be called Minnie by non-Chinese speakers (assuming that is true of course).
    – mdewey
    Sep 1 '17 at 13:14






  • 24




    If you don't have "Minnie" as a name in your passport, it's very important to NOT write it in the reservation.
    – RoboKaren
    Sep 1 '17 at 23:55






  • 4




    Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you actually have 2 names: the Chinese name "Qin Qing" and the westernized name "Minnie Wong"?
    – Andrew T.
    Sep 2 '17 at 8:10







  • 7




    @AndrewT. Presumably (Mandarin) Chinese Wang/Huang Qin Qing and westernised Minnie Wong. The version given here is an odd mixture, since Wong is the Jyutping/Yale/Hong Kong transcription (i.e., based on Cantonese pronunciation) of either 王 wáng or 黄 huáng (most commonly), while Qin Qing is Pinyin (i.e., based on Mandarin). In Chinese, the name would be written in characters throughout, but it’s not common—as far as I know—to westernise names transcribing from different languages within the same name.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Sep 2 '17 at 10:30













up vote
58
down vote

favorite
4









up vote
58
down vote

favorite
4






4





My name is Minnie Wong Qin Qing. If I put Wong as my surname, and the others as my last name, finally the full name will be:



Minnie Qin Qing Wong.



So what can I do?










share|improve this question















My name is Minnie Wong Qin Qing. If I put Wong as my surname, and the others as my last name, finally the full name will be:



Minnie Qin Qing Wong.



So what can I do?







air-travel bookings






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













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share|improve this question








edited Sep 2 '17 at 14:10









smci

1,090912




1,090912










asked Sep 1 '17 at 12:29









Minnie Wong

300133




300133







  • 24




    surname = last name = family name. Depending on the form, if WONG is your family name / surname, you could put Qin Qing Minnie, Minnie Qin Qing or other variations by leaving off Minnie. Do you have a passport already? Then you should use the same thing that's on the passport.
    – mkennedy
    Sep 1 '17 at 13:04






  • 21




    Some of my colleagues would write this as Qin Qing (Minnie) WONG to make it absolutely clear that you have chosen to be called Minnie by non-Chinese speakers (assuming that is true of course).
    – mdewey
    Sep 1 '17 at 13:14






  • 24




    If you don't have "Minnie" as a name in your passport, it's very important to NOT write it in the reservation.
    – RoboKaren
    Sep 1 '17 at 23:55






  • 4




    Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you actually have 2 names: the Chinese name "Qin Qing" and the westernized name "Minnie Wong"?
    – Andrew T.
    Sep 2 '17 at 8:10







  • 7




    @AndrewT. Presumably (Mandarin) Chinese Wang/Huang Qin Qing and westernised Minnie Wong. The version given here is an odd mixture, since Wong is the Jyutping/Yale/Hong Kong transcription (i.e., based on Cantonese pronunciation) of either 王 wáng or 黄 huáng (most commonly), while Qin Qing is Pinyin (i.e., based on Mandarin). In Chinese, the name would be written in characters throughout, but it’s not common—as far as I know—to westernise names transcribing from different languages within the same name.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Sep 2 '17 at 10:30













  • 24




    surname = last name = family name. Depending on the form, if WONG is your family name / surname, you could put Qin Qing Minnie, Minnie Qin Qing or other variations by leaving off Minnie. Do you have a passport already? Then you should use the same thing that's on the passport.
    – mkennedy
    Sep 1 '17 at 13:04






  • 21




    Some of my colleagues would write this as Qin Qing (Minnie) WONG to make it absolutely clear that you have chosen to be called Minnie by non-Chinese speakers (assuming that is true of course).
    – mdewey
    Sep 1 '17 at 13:14






  • 24




    If you don't have "Minnie" as a name in your passport, it's very important to NOT write it in the reservation.
    – RoboKaren
    Sep 1 '17 at 23:55






  • 4




    Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you actually have 2 names: the Chinese name "Qin Qing" and the westernized name "Minnie Wong"?
    – Andrew T.
    Sep 2 '17 at 8:10







  • 7




    @AndrewT. Presumably (Mandarin) Chinese Wang/Huang Qin Qing and westernised Minnie Wong. The version given here is an odd mixture, since Wong is the Jyutping/Yale/Hong Kong transcription (i.e., based on Cantonese pronunciation) of either 王 wáng or 黄 huáng (most commonly), while Qin Qing is Pinyin (i.e., based on Mandarin). In Chinese, the name would be written in characters throughout, but it’s not common—as far as I know—to westernise names transcribing from different languages within the same name.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Sep 2 '17 at 10:30








24




24




surname = last name = family name. Depending on the form, if WONG is your family name / surname, you could put Qin Qing Minnie, Minnie Qin Qing or other variations by leaving off Minnie. Do you have a passport already? Then you should use the same thing that's on the passport.
– mkennedy
Sep 1 '17 at 13:04




surname = last name = family name. Depending on the form, if WONG is your family name / surname, you could put Qin Qing Minnie, Minnie Qin Qing or other variations by leaving off Minnie. Do you have a passport already? Then you should use the same thing that's on the passport.
– mkennedy
Sep 1 '17 at 13:04




21




21




Some of my colleagues would write this as Qin Qing (Minnie) WONG to make it absolutely clear that you have chosen to be called Minnie by non-Chinese speakers (assuming that is true of course).
– mdewey
Sep 1 '17 at 13:14




Some of my colleagues would write this as Qin Qing (Minnie) WONG to make it absolutely clear that you have chosen to be called Minnie by non-Chinese speakers (assuming that is true of course).
– mdewey
Sep 1 '17 at 13:14




24




24




If you don't have "Minnie" as a name in your passport, it's very important to NOT write it in the reservation.
– RoboKaren
Sep 1 '17 at 23:55




If you don't have "Minnie" as a name in your passport, it's very important to NOT write it in the reservation.
– RoboKaren
Sep 1 '17 at 23:55




4




4




Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you actually have 2 names: the Chinese name "Qin Qing" and the westernized name "Minnie Wong"?
– Andrew T.
Sep 2 '17 at 8:10





Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you actually have 2 names: the Chinese name "Qin Qing" and the westernized name "Minnie Wong"?
– Andrew T.
Sep 2 '17 at 8:10





7




7




@AndrewT. Presumably (Mandarin) Chinese Wang/Huang Qin Qing and westernised Minnie Wong. The version given here is an odd mixture, since Wong is the Jyutping/Yale/Hong Kong transcription (i.e., based on Cantonese pronunciation) of either 王 wáng or 黄 huáng (most commonly), while Qin Qing is Pinyin (i.e., based on Mandarin). In Chinese, the name would be written in characters throughout, but it’s not common—as far as I know—to westernise names transcribing from different languages within the same name.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Sep 2 '17 at 10:30





@AndrewT. Presumably (Mandarin) Chinese Wang/Huang Qin Qing and westernised Minnie Wong. The version given here is an odd mixture, since Wong is the Jyutping/Yale/Hong Kong transcription (i.e., based on Cantonese pronunciation) of either 王 wáng or 黄 huáng (most commonly), while Qin Qing is Pinyin (i.e., based on Mandarin). In Chinese, the name would be written in characters throughout, but it’s not common—as far as I know—to westernise names transcribing from different languages within the same name.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Sep 2 '17 at 10:30











6 Answers
6






active

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up vote
177
down vote













In terms of booking flights, the only thing you need to consider is what your passport says. It will have fields that are also marked in English, such as "Surname" and "Given names". When you book flight tickets, input exactly what is in those fields, in the corresponding field to what your passport refers to as your "Surname", "Given names", etc.



If that happens to be wrong according to your actual name, local naming conventions, etc, then that is perhaps something the issuing authority of your passport could consider dealing with.



However, in terms of booking tickets, the only thing you personally can do is input everything exactly as it appears in your passport, in the corresponding fields. That is what airlines, governments, etc. will want to see, and the absence of it will typically cause problems.






share|improve this answer


















  • 47




    This is the correct answer! It doesn't even matter what those words mean, just pattern match them and copy from passport into reservation.
    – chx
    Sep 1 '17 at 19:34







  • 8




    It has two extra initials in my passport representing my Chinese name. One of my bookings I left them out and had to get it added before the airline would issue my boarding pass. Just look at your passport and follow it.
    – Nelson
    Sep 2 '17 at 17:10







  • 2




    This is really the correct answer. I once suddenly ended up with a passport where my name was misspelled and I needed to book a flight. I put the misspelled name because this is all what mattered to get into the flight. I had all sorts of issues afterwards because of the misspelling (before it was corrected) but from the perspective of the booking it did not matter.
    – WoJ
    Sep 3 '17 at 15:19






  • 1




    This is the correct answer, except then you get into situations like my sister, whose last name has a hyphen in her passport, but many airline booking sites call the hyphen an invalid character. It hasn't actually prevented her from flying (yet), because the ticket agents have all been capable of engaging their grey matter, but she dreads the day when it becomes all fully automated...
    – Martha
    Sep 3 '17 at 18:44






  • 1




    @Martha automated checking is already an issue with things like credit cards, but I think in practice the validation is quite loose.
    – Ganesh Sittampalam
    Sep 3 '17 at 21:28

















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44
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What matters is what is on your ID, but in general:



"surname" = "last name" = 姓



The phrase "last name" in English refers to your family name, regardless of whether your family name is customarily said/written first or last.






share|improve this answer


















  • 18




    "Last name" is a bit confusing because in many countries or cultures (including often in China) surnames aren't last. "Surname" = "Family name"
    – user568458
    Sep 1 '17 at 14:38







  • 60




    Yes, it's confusing, but that's precisely why it needs to be explained explicitly that the phrase "last name" in English means family name, not "the part of your name which is said/written last"
    – John Pardon
    Sep 1 '17 at 15:56






  • 7




    "Family name" isn't necessarily less confusing, because multiple family names may be used, particularly in parts of the Hispano/Lusophone world, where the first surname is the father's surname and the second surname is the maternal grandfather's surname. For example, the president of El Salvador is Salvador Sánchez Cerén; Sánchez is his paternal family name, not a given name, and Cerén his maternal family name. So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world, although this doesn't then work for surnames which are merely patronymics.
    – choster
    Sep 1 '17 at 17:57







  • 19




    @choster shouldn't his English family name be the complete Sánchez Cerén then?
    – Chieron
    Sep 1 '17 at 20:06






  • 4




    @choster: "So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world" - unless the child has taken on the mother's surname, which is certainly also legally possible in some anglophone countries.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Sep 1 '17 at 20:13

















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6
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I suppose you're Singaporean? That's a current practice in Singapore. However you don't have much of a choice. Your family name is Wong, and your first names, plural, are Minnie AND Qin Qing.






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  • 1




    Terminology The usual phrase (in western English) is "given names", because "first names" (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first. This includes first name and "middle names", but not the family name (because your parents didn't have to choose that). (Some people use one of their given names other than the first one as their primary name, and would write their name with a first initial instead of a middle initial in a context where you don't expand all your given names.)
    – Peter Cordes
    Sep 1 '17 at 19:10







  • 6




    @PeterCordes: "The usual phrase (in western English) is 'given names', because 'first names' (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first." - that would make the "top ten" and the "best [ones] of the best" oxymorons, as well. Avoiding the very confusion the OP is asking about seems like a likelier reason to prefer given names over first names.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Sep 1 '17 at 20:31






  • 2




    @PeterCordes That is not true at all, at least far from universally so. If you look them up in most dictionaries, ‘first name’ and ‘given name’ are given as synonyms, which mirrors my own personal experience exactly. You can have several first/given names, and if you normally use just one of them, then you’d also call that your first/given name. My dad has two first names but only ever uses the second one except when filling in forms; his second first name is his first name (= primary name), while his first first name is a first name of his.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Sep 2 '17 at 10:40






  • 16




    There is also nothing oxymoronic about the phrase “first names” in the plural, any more than First Nations or “the first ten minutes of the game” are oxymorons. Only one entity can be first, but there is nothing oxymoronic about that entity being a group consisting of sub-entities.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Sep 2 '17 at 10:42






  • 3




    @phoog I’m sure that is true. The reverse is also true in some places, that you may have as as many first and last names as you want, but only one middle name. I've also heard people claim that you can't have a middle name if you have four names. Americans saying they have multiple first or last names are common enough, too. I'm sure some do make the distinction Peter mentions, but there is far too much variation to make any kind of blanket statement on “the usual phrase (in western English)”.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Sep 2 '17 at 14:39

















up vote
1
down vote













I agree with other answers here that if this is for an airline ticket booking you should transfer what's stated in your passport to the airline ticket – that is, if this is for international travel.



First name and last name are an entirely western language concept. More generic (and culturally more sensitive) would be to use given name and family name. Since names in China and other cultures put the family name before the given name, first and last name don't make sense here anymore, though I find that many people in cultures with reversed "first name" "last name" are aware of that.



In addition to your purely Chinese name (Wong Qin Qing, seemingly a Catonese/Mandarin mix) in family namegiven name order, you also have a western style name (Minnie Wong, whereby "Minnie" is probably the given name you chose) in given namefamily name order. When you mix both it could lead to confusion beyond identifying you. So it would be best to be "Minnie Wong" to your western friends/colleagues or in Hong Kong, where that's more common, and be "Wong Qin Qing" or "Wang Qin Qing" in your (mainland) Chinese circle.






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    up vote
    1
    down vote













    I am sure you are Chinese but not China residence, maybe Malaysian Chinese or Singaporean Chinese, am I right?
    I face this same issue before.
    Your passport printed Minnie Wong Qin Qing, am i right?
    Minnie is your Christian / English name.
    Wong is your family name
    Qin Qing is your name.



    While you make the flight booking, make in this way:
    First name: Qin Qing
    Last name: Winnie Wong



    Only in this way, while print out your boarding pass, it will show Winnie Wong / Qin Qing, you wouldn't face any problem boarding.
    This issue actually is suffering many people before, the airline also advice change the first name, last name as formal format Given name, Surname.



    Remember, while flight boarding, they only recognize what word type in your passport, if your passport only write as Winnie Wong Qin Qing, don't book your flight with Winnie 黄青青!
    But some country passport comes with Chinese Mandarin word and English word, they are safe with both, example Taiwan ROC.



    Happy Safe Flight.






    share|improve this answer



























      up vote
      -2
      down vote













      if you have a brother or sister then the commun words in your full name is the last name (last name = family name).



      And the rest word or words is your first name it's also the given name par your parent to you.






      share|improve this answer
















      • 5




        This doesn't work in all languages/cultures or all situations. In some cultures children of different genders inherit different family names (which may or may not be inflected forms of the same name). In other cases a child may be born before the parents are married, and take the mother's surname, then the parents marry, a sibling is born, but the first child's surname isn't changed. Or many other examples
        – Chris H
        Sep 4 '17 at 8:34






      • 1




        @ChrisH Or indeed the parents may simply choose to pass the mother’s family name on to one child and the father’s onto another, even if they are married all along.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 4 '17 at 15:31






      • 1




        @JanusBahsJacquet indeed. There are many cases. A specific example occurred to me which was why I used it.
        – Chris H
        Sep 4 '17 at 15:33










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      6 Answers
      6






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      6 Answers
      6






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      up vote
      177
      down vote













      In terms of booking flights, the only thing you need to consider is what your passport says. It will have fields that are also marked in English, such as "Surname" and "Given names". When you book flight tickets, input exactly what is in those fields, in the corresponding field to what your passport refers to as your "Surname", "Given names", etc.



      If that happens to be wrong according to your actual name, local naming conventions, etc, then that is perhaps something the issuing authority of your passport could consider dealing with.



      However, in terms of booking tickets, the only thing you personally can do is input everything exactly as it appears in your passport, in the corresponding fields. That is what airlines, governments, etc. will want to see, and the absence of it will typically cause problems.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 47




        This is the correct answer! It doesn't even matter what those words mean, just pattern match them and copy from passport into reservation.
        – chx
        Sep 1 '17 at 19:34







      • 8




        It has two extra initials in my passport representing my Chinese name. One of my bookings I left them out and had to get it added before the airline would issue my boarding pass. Just look at your passport and follow it.
        – Nelson
        Sep 2 '17 at 17:10







      • 2




        This is really the correct answer. I once suddenly ended up with a passport where my name was misspelled and I needed to book a flight. I put the misspelled name because this is all what mattered to get into the flight. I had all sorts of issues afterwards because of the misspelling (before it was corrected) but from the perspective of the booking it did not matter.
        – WoJ
        Sep 3 '17 at 15:19






      • 1




        This is the correct answer, except then you get into situations like my sister, whose last name has a hyphen in her passport, but many airline booking sites call the hyphen an invalid character. It hasn't actually prevented her from flying (yet), because the ticket agents have all been capable of engaging their grey matter, but she dreads the day when it becomes all fully automated...
        – Martha
        Sep 3 '17 at 18:44






      • 1




        @Martha automated checking is already an issue with things like credit cards, but I think in practice the validation is quite loose.
        – Ganesh Sittampalam
        Sep 3 '17 at 21:28














      up vote
      177
      down vote













      In terms of booking flights, the only thing you need to consider is what your passport says. It will have fields that are also marked in English, such as "Surname" and "Given names". When you book flight tickets, input exactly what is in those fields, in the corresponding field to what your passport refers to as your "Surname", "Given names", etc.



      If that happens to be wrong according to your actual name, local naming conventions, etc, then that is perhaps something the issuing authority of your passport could consider dealing with.



      However, in terms of booking tickets, the only thing you personally can do is input everything exactly as it appears in your passport, in the corresponding fields. That is what airlines, governments, etc. will want to see, and the absence of it will typically cause problems.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 47




        This is the correct answer! It doesn't even matter what those words mean, just pattern match them and copy from passport into reservation.
        – chx
        Sep 1 '17 at 19:34







      • 8




        It has two extra initials in my passport representing my Chinese name. One of my bookings I left them out and had to get it added before the airline would issue my boarding pass. Just look at your passport and follow it.
        – Nelson
        Sep 2 '17 at 17:10







      • 2




        This is really the correct answer. I once suddenly ended up with a passport where my name was misspelled and I needed to book a flight. I put the misspelled name because this is all what mattered to get into the flight. I had all sorts of issues afterwards because of the misspelling (before it was corrected) but from the perspective of the booking it did not matter.
        – WoJ
        Sep 3 '17 at 15:19






      • 1




        This is the correct answer, except then you get into situations like my sister, whose last name has a hyphen in her passport, but many airline booking sites call the hyphen an invalid character. It hasn't actually prevented her from flying (yet), because the ticket agents have all been capable of engaging their grey matter, but she dreads the day when it becomes all fully automated...
        – Martha
        Sep 3 '17 at 18:44






      • 1




        @Martha automated checking is already an issue with things like credit cards, but I think in practice the validation is quite loose.
        – Ganesh Sittampalam
        Sep 3 '17 at 21:28












      up vote
      177
      down vote










      up vote
      177
      down vote









      In terms of booking flights, the only thing you need to consider is what your passport says. It will have fields that are also marked in English, such as "Surname" and "Given names". When you book flight tickets, input exactly what is in those fields, in the corresponding field to what your passport refers to as your "Surname", "Given names", etc.



      If that happens to be wrong according to your actual name, local naming conventions, etc, then that is perhaps something the issuing authority of your passport could consider dealing with.



      However, in terms of booking tickets, the only thing you personally can do is input everything exactly as it appears in your passport, in the corresponding fields. That is what airlines, governments, etc. will want to see, and the absence of it will typically cause problems.






      share|improve this answer














      In terms of booking flights, the only thing you need to consider is what your passport says. It will have fields that are also marked in English, such as "Surname" and "Given names". When you book flight tickets, input exactly what is in those fields, in the corresponding field to what your passport refers to as your "Surname", "Given names", etc.



      If that happens to be wrong according to your actual name, local naming conventions, etc, then that is perhaps something the issuing authority of your passport could consider dealing with.



      However, in terms of booking tickets, the only thing you personally can do is input everything exactly as it appears in your passport, in the corresponding fields. That is what airlines, governments, etc. will want to see, and the absence of it will typically cause problems.







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited Sep 4 '17 at 18:40

























      answered Sep 1 '17 at 19:22









      Revetahw

      13.3k75690




      13.3k75690







      • 47




        This is the correct answer! It doesn't even matter what those words mean, just pattern match them and copy from passport into reservation.
        – chx
        Sep 1 '17 at 19:34







      • 8




        It has two extra initials in my passport representing my Chinese name. One of my bookings I left them out and had to get it added before the airline would issue my boarding pass. Just look at your passport and follow it.
        – Nelson
        Sep 2 '17 at 17:10







      • 2




        This is really the correct answer. I once suddenly ended up with a passport where my name was misspelled and I needed to book a flight. I put the misspelled name because this is all what mattered to get into the flight. I had all sorts of issues afterwards because of the misspelling (before it was corrected) but from the perspective of the booking it did not matter.
        – WoJ
        Sep 3 '17 at 15:19






      • 1




        This is the correct answer, except then you get into situations like my sister, whose last name has a hyphen in her passport, but many airline booking sites call the hyphen an invalid character. It hasn't actually prevented her from flying (yet), because the ticket agents have all been capable of engaging their grey matter, but she dreads the day when it becomes all fully automated...
        – Martha
        Sep 3 '17 at 18:44






      • 1




        @Martha automated checking is already an issue with things like credit cards, but I think in practice the validation is quite loose.
        – Ganesh Sittampalam
        Sep 3 '17 at 21:28












      • 47




        This is the correct answer! It doesn't even matter what those words mean, just pattern match them and copy from passport into reservation.
        – chx
        Sep 1 '17 at 19:34







      • 8




        It has two extra initials in my passport representing my Chinese name. One of my bookings I left them out and had to get it added before the airline would issue my boarding pass. Just look at your passport and follow it.
        – Nelson
        Sep 2 '17 at 17:10







      • 2




        This is really the correct answer. I once suddenly ended up with a passport where my name was misspelled and I needed to book a flight. I put the misspelled name because this is all what mattered to get into the flight. I had all sorts of issues afterwards because of the misspelling (before it was corrected) but from the perspective of the booking it did not matter.
        – WoJ
        Sep 3 '17 at 15:19






      • 1




        This is the correct answer, except then you get into situations like my sister, whose last name has a hyphen in her passport, but many airline booking sites call the hyphen an invalid character. It hasn't actually prevented her from flying (yet), because the ticket agents have all been capable of engaging their grey matter, but she dreads the day when it becomes all fully automated...
        – Martha
        Sep 3 '17 at 18:44






      • 1




        @Martha automated checking is already an issue with things like credit cards, but I think in practice the validation is quite loose.
        – Ganesh Sittampalam
        Sep 3 '17 at 21:28







      47




      47




      This is the correct answer! It doesn't even matter what those words mean, just pattern match them and copy from passport into reservation.
      – chx
      Sep 1 '17 at 19:34





      This is the correct answer! It doesn't even matter what those words mean, just pattern match them and copy from passport into reservation.
      – chx
      Sep 1 '17 at 19:34





      8




      8




      It has two extra initials in my passport representing my Chinese name. One of my bookings I left them out and had to get it added before the airline would issue my boarding pass. Just look at your passport and follow it.
      – Nelson
      Sep 2 '17 at 17:10





      It has two extra initials in my passport representing my Chinese name. One of my bookings I left them out and had to get it added before the airline would issue my boarding pass. Just look at your passport and follow it.
      – Nelson
      Sep 2 '17 at 17:10





      2




      2




      This is really the correct answer. I once suddenly ended up with a passport where my name was misspelled and I needed to book a flight. I put the misspelled name because this is all what mattered to get into the flight. I had all sorts of issues afterwards because of the misspelling (before it was corrected) but from the perspective of the booking it did not matter.
      – WoJ
      Sep 3 '17 at 15:19




      This is really the correct answer. I once suddenly ended up with a passport where my name was misspelled and I needed to book a flight. I put the misspelled name because this is all what mattered to get into the flight. I had all sorts of issues afterwards because of the misspelling (before it was corrected) but from the perspective of the booking it did not matter.
      – WoJ
      Sep 3 '17 at 15:19




      1




      1




      This is the correct answer, except then you get into situations like my sister, whose last name has a hyphen in her passport, but many airline booking sites call the hyphen an invalid character. It hasn't actually prevented her from flying (yet), because the ticket agents have all been capable of engaging their grey matter, but she dreads the day when it becomes all fully automated...
      – Martha
      Sep 3 '17 at 18:44




      This is the correct answer, except then you get into situations like my sister, whose last name has a hyphen in her passport, but many airline booking sites call the hyphen an invalid character. It hasn't actually prevented her from flying (yet), because the ticket agents have all been capable of engaging their grey matter, but she dreads the day when it becomes all fully automated...
      – Martha
      Sep 3 '17 at 18:44




      1




      1




      @Martha automated checking is already an issue with things like credit cards, but I think in practice the validation is quite loose.
      – Ganesh Sittampalam
      Sep 3 '17 at 21:28




      @Martha automated checking is already an issue with things like credit cards, but I think in practice the validation is quite loose.
      – Ganesh Sittampalam
      Sep 3 '17 at 21:28












      up vote
      44
      down vote













      What matters is what is on your ID, but in general:



      "surname" = "last name" = 姓



      The phrase "last name" in English refers to your family name, regardless of whether your family name is customarily said/written first or last.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 18




        "Last name" is a bit confusing because in many countries or cultures (including often in China) surnames aren't last. "Surname" = "Family name"
        – user568458
        Sep 1 '17 at 14:38







      • 60




        Yes, it's confusing, but that's precisely why it needs to be explained explicitly that the phrase "last name" in English means family name, not "the part of your name which is said/written last"
        – John Pardon
        Sep 1 '17 at 15:56






      • 7




        "Family name" isn't necessarily less confusing, because multiple family names may be used, particularly in parts of the Hispano/Lusophone world, where the first surname is the father's surname and the second surname is the maternal grandfather's surname. For example, the president of El Salvador is Salvador Sánchez Cerén; Sánchez is his paternal family name, not a given name, and Cerén his maternal family name. So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world, although this doesn't then work for surnames which are merely patronymics.
        – choster
        Sep 1 '17 at 17:57







      • 19




        @choster shouldn't his English family name be the complete Sánchez Cerén then?
        – Chieron
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:06






      • 4




        @choster: "So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world" - unless the child has taken on the mother's surname, which is certainly also legally possible in some anglophone countries.
        – O. R. Mapper
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:13














      up vote
      44
      down vote













      What matters is what is on your ID, but in general:



      "surname" = "last name" = 姓



      The phrase "last name" in English refers to your family name, regardless of whether your family name is customarily said/written first or last.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 18




        "Last name" is a bit confusing because in many countries or cultures (including often in China) surnames aren't last. "Surname" = "Family name"
        – user568458
        Sep 1 '17 at 14:38







      • 60




        Yes, it's confusing, but that's precisely why it needs to be explained explicitly that the phrase "last name" in English means family name, not "the part of your name which is said/written last"
        – John Pardon
        Sep 1 '17 at 15:56






      • 7




        "Family name" isn't necessarily less confusing, because multiple family names may be used, particularly in parts of the Hispano/Lusophone world, where the first surname is the father's surname and the second surname is the maternal grandfather's surname. For example, the president of El Salvador is Salvador Sánchez Cerén; Sánchez is his paternal family name, not a given name, and Cerén his maternal family name. So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world, although this doesn't then work for surnames which are merely patronymics.
        – choster
        Sep 1 '17 at 17:57







      • 19




        @choster shouldn't his English family name be the complete Sánchez Cerén then?
        – Chieron
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:06






      • 4




        @choster: "So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world" - unless the child has taken on the mother's surname, which is certainly also legally possible in some anglophone countries.
        – O. R. Mapper
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:13












      up vote
      44
      down vote










      up vote
      44
      down vote









      What matters is what is on your ID, but in general:



      "surname" = "last name" = 姓



      The phrase "last name" in English refers to your family name, regardless of whether your family name is customarily said/written first or last.






      share|improve this answer














      What matters is what is on your ID, but in general:



      "surname" = "last name" = 姓



      The phrase "last name" in English refers to your family name, regardless of whether your family name is customarily said/written first or last.







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited Sep 1 '17 at 15:55

























      answered Sep 1 '17 at 13:07









      John Pardon

      8732717




      8732717







      • 18




        "Last name" is a bit confusing because in many countries or cultures (including often in China) surnames aren't last. "Surname" = "Family name"
        – user568458
        Sep 1 '17 at 14:38







      • 60




        Yes, it's confusing, but that's precisely why it needs to be explained explicitly that the phrase "last name" in English means family name, not "the part of your name which is said/written last"
        – John Pardon
        Sep 1 '17 at 15:56






      • 7




        "Family name" isn't necessarily less confusing, because multiple family names may be used, particularly in parts of the Hispano/Lusophone world, where the first surname is the father's surname and the second surname is the maternal grandfather's surname. For example, the president of El Salvador is Salvador Sánchez Cerén; Sánchez is his paternal family name, not a given name, and Cerén his maternal family name. So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world, although this doesn't then work for surnames which are merely patronymics.
        – choster
        Sep 1 '17 at 17:57







      • 19




        @choster shouldn't his English family name be the complete Sánchez Cerén then?
        – Chieron
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:06






      • 4




        @choster: "So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world" - unless the child has taken on the mother's surname, which is certainly also legally possible in some anglophone countries.
        – O. R. Mapper
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:13












      • 18




        "Last name" is a bit confusing because in many countries or cultures (including often in China) surnames aren't last. "Surname" = "Family name"
        – user568458
        Sep 1 '17 at 14:38







      • 60




        Yes, it's confusing, but that's precisely why it needs to be explained explicitly that the phrase "last name" in English means family name, not "the part of your name which is said/written last"
        – John Pardon
        Sep 1 '17 at 15:56






      • 7




        "Family name" isn't necessarily less confusing, because multiple family names may be used, particularly in parts of the Hispano/Lusophone world, where the first surname is the father's surname and the second surname is the maternal grandfather's surname. For example, the president of El Salvador is Salvador Sánchez Cerén; Sánchez is his paternal family name, not a given name, and Cerén his maternal family name. So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world, although this doesn't then work for surnames which are merely patronymics.
        – choster
        Sep 1 '17 at 17:57







      • 19




        @choster shouldn't his English family name be the complete Sánchez Cerén then?
        – Chieron
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:06






      • 4




        @choster: "So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world" - unless the child has taken on the mother's surname, which is certainly also legally possible in some anglophone countries.
        – O. R. Mapper
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:13







      18




      18




      "Last name" is a bit confusing because in many countries or cultures (including often in China) surnames aren't last. "Surname" = "Family name"
      – user568458
      Sep 1 '17 at 14:38





      "Last name" is a bit confusing because in many countries or cultures (including often in China) surnames aren't last. "Surname" = "Family name"
      – user568458
      Sep 1 '17 at 14:38





      60




      60




      Yes, it's confusing, but that's precisely why it needs to be explained explicitly that the phrase "last name" in English means family name, not "the part of your name which is said/written last"
      – John Pardon
      Sep 1 '17 at 15:56




      Yes, it's confusing, but that's precisely why it needs to be explained explicitly that the phrase "last name" in English means family name, not "the part of your name which is said/written last"
      – John Pardon
      Sep 1 '17 at 15:56




      7




      7




      "Family name" isn't necessarily less confusing, because multiple family names may be used, particularly in parts of the Hispano/Lusophone world, where the first surname is the father's surname and the second surname is the maternal grandfather's surname. For example, the president of El Salvador is Salvador Sánchez Cerén; Sánchez is his paternal family name, not a given name, and Cerén his maternal family name. So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world, although this doesn't then work for surnames which are merely patronymics.
      – choster
      Sep 1 '17 at 17:57





      "Family name" isn't necessarily less confusing, because multiple family names may be used, particularly in parts of the Hispano/Lusophone world, where the first surname is the father's surname and the second surname is the maternal grandfather's surname. For example, the president of El Salvador is Salvador Sánchez Cerén; Sánchez is his paternal family name, not a given name, and Cerén his maternal family name. So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world, although this doesn't then work for surnames which are merely patronymics.
      – choster
      Sep 1 '17 at 17:57





      19




      19




      @choster shouldn't his English family name be the complete Sánchez Cerén then?
      – Chieron
      Sep 1 '17 at 20:06




      @choster shouldn't his English family name be the complete Sánchez Cerén then?
      – Chieron
      Sep 1 '17 at 20:06




      4




      4




      @choster: "So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world" - unless the child has taken on the mother's surname, which is certainly also legally possible in some anglophone countries.
      – O. R. Mapper
      Sep 1 '17 at 20:13




      @choster: "So perhaps patrilineal family name is the best equivalent for the Anglophone world" - unless the child has taken on the mother's surname, which is certainly also legally possible in some anglophone countries.
      – O. R. Mapper
      Sep 1 '17 at 20:13










      up vote
      6
      down vote













      I suppose you're Singaporean? That's a current practice in Singapore. However you don't have much of a choice. Your family name is Wong, and your first names, plural, are Minnie AND Qin Qing.






      share|improve this answer
















      • 1




        Terminology The usual phrase (in western English) is "given names", because "first names" (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first. This includes first name and "middle names", but not the family name (because your parents didn't have to choose that). (Some people use one of their given names other than the first one as their primary name, and would write their name with a first initial instead of a middle initial in a context where you don't expand all your given names.)
        – Peter Cordes
        Sep 1 '17 at 19:10







      • 6




        @PeterCordes: "The usual phrase (in western English) is 'given names', because 'first names' (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first." - that would make the "top ten" and the "best [ones] of the best" oxymorons, as well. Avoiding the very confusion the OP is asking about seems like a likelier reason to prefer given names over first names.
        – O. R. Mapper
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:31






      • 2




        @PeterCordes That is not true at all, at least far from universally so. If you look them up in most dictionaries, ‘first name’ and ‘given name’ are given as synonyms, which mirrors my own personal experience exactly. You can have several first/given names, and if you normally use just one of them, then you’d also call that your first/given name. My dad has two first names but only ever uses the second one except when filling in forms; his second first name is his first name (= primary name), while his first first name is a first name of his.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 10:40






      • 16




        There is also nothing oxymoronic about the phrase “first names” in the plural, any more than First Nations or “the first ten minutes of the game” are oxymorons. Only one entity can be first, but there is nothing oxymoronic about that entity being a group consisting of sub-entities.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 10:42






      • 3




        @phoog I’m sure that is true. The reverse is also true in some places, that you may have as as many first and last names as you want, but only one middle name. I've also heard people claim that you can't have a middle name if you have four names. Americans saying they have multiple first or last names are common enough, too. I'm sure some do make the distinction Peter mentions, but there is far too much variation to make any kind of blanket statement on “the usual phrase (in western English)”.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 14:39














      up vote
      6
      down vote













      I suppose you're Singaporean? That's a current practice in Singapore. However you don't have much of a choice. Your family name is Wong, and your first names, plural, are Minnie AND Qin Qing.






      share|improve this answer
















      • 1




        Terminology The usual phrase (in western English) is "given names", because "first names" (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first. This includes first name and "middle names", but not the family name (because your parents didn't have to choose that). (Some people use one of their given names other than the first one as their primary name, and would write their name with a first initial instead of a middle initial in a context where you don't expand all your given names.)
        – Peter Cordes
        Sep 1 '17 at 19:10







      • 6




        @PeterCordes: "The usual phrase (in western English) is 'given names', because 'first names' (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first." - that would make the "top ten" and the "best [ones] of the best" oxymorons, as well. Avoiding the very confusion the OP is asking about seems like a likelier reason to prefer given names over first names.
        – O. R. Mapper
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:31






      • 2




        @PeterCordes That is not true at all, at least far from universally so. If you look them up in most dictionaries, ‘first name’ and ‘given name’ are given as synonyms, which mirrors my own personal experience exactly. You can have several first/given names, and if you normally use just one of them, then you’d also call that your first/given name. My dad has two first names but only ever uses the second one except when filling in forms; his second first name is his first name (= primary name), while his first first name is a first name of his.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 10:40






      • 16




        There is also nothing oxymoronic about the phrase “first names” in the plural, any more than First Nations or “the first ten minutes of the game” are oxymorons. Only one entity can be first, but there is nothing oxymoronic about that entity being a group consisting of sub-entities.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 10:42






      • 3




        @phoog I’m sure that is true. The reverse is also true in some places, that you may have as as many first and last names as you want, but only one middle name. I've also heard people claim that you can't have a middle name if you have four names. Americans saying they have multiple first or last names are common enough, too. I'm sure some do make the distinction Peter mentions, but there is far too much variation to make any kind of blanket statement on “the usual phrase (in western English)”.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 14:39












      up vote
      6
      down vote










      up vote
      6
      down vote









      I suppose you're Singaporean? That's a current practice in Singapore. However you don't have much of a choice. Your family name is Wong, and your first names, plural, are Minnie AND Qin Qing.






      share|improve this answer












      I suppose you're Singaporean? That's a current practice in Singapore. However you don't have much of a choice. Your family name is Wong, and your first names, plural, are Minnie AND Qin Qing.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered Sep 1 '17 at 13:43







      user67108














      • 1




        Terminology The usual phrase (in western English) is "given names", because "first names" (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first. This includes first name and "middle names", but not the family name (because your parents didn't have to choose that). (Some people use one of their given names other than the first one as their primary name, and would write their name with a first initial instead of a middle initial in a context where you don't expand all your given names.)
        – Peter Cordes
        Sep 1 '17 at 19:10







      • 6




        @PeterCordes: "The usual phrase (in western English) is 'given names', because 'first names' (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first." - that would make the "top ten" and the "best [ones] of the best" oxymorons, as well. Avoiding the very confusion the OP is asking about seems like a likelier reason to prefer given names over first names.
        – O. R. Mapper
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:31






      • 2




        @PeterCordes That is not true at all, at least far from universally so. If you look them up in most dictionaries, ‘first name’ and ‘given name’ are given as synonyms, which mirrors my own personal experience exactly. You can have several first/given names, and if you normally use just one of them, then you’d also call that your first/given name. My dad has two first names but only ever uses the second one except when filling in forms; his second first name is his first name (= primary name), while his first first name is a first name of his.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 10:40






      • 16




        There is also nothing oxymoronic about the phrase “first names” in the plural, any more than First Nations or “the first ten minutes of the game” are oxymorons. Only one entity can be first, but there is nothing oxymoronic about that entity being a group consisting of sub-entities.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 10:42






      • 3




        @phoog I’m sure that is true. The reverse is also true in some places, that you may have as as many first and last names as you want, but only one middle name. I've also heard people claim that you can't have a middle name if you have four names. Americans saying they have multiple first or last names are common enough, too. I'm sure some do make the distinction Peter mentions, but there is far too much variation to make any kind of blanket statement on “the usual phrase (in western English)”.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 14:39












      • 1




        Terminology The usual phrase (in western English) is "given names", because "first names" (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first. This includes first name and "middle names", but not the family name (because your parents didn't have to choose that). (Some people use one of their given names other than the first one as their primary name, and would write their name with a first initial instead of a middle initial in a context where you don't expand all your given names.)
        – Peter Cordes
        Sep 1 '17 at 19:10







      • 6




        @PeterCordes: "The usual phrase (in western English) is 'given names', because 'first names' (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first." - that would make the "top ten" and the "best [ones] of the best" oxymorons, as well. Avoiding the very confusion the OP is asking about seems like a likelier reason to prefer given names over first names.
        – O. R. Mapper
        Sep 1 '17 at 20:31






      • 2




        @PeterCordes That is not true at all, at least far from universally so. If you look them up in most dictionaries, ‘first name’ and ‘given name’ are given as synonyms, which mirrors my own personal experience exactly. You can have several first/given names, and if you normally use just one of them, then you’d also call that your first/given name. My dad has two first names but only ever uses the second one except when filling in forms; his second first name is his first name (= primary name), while his first first name is a first name of his.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 10:40






      • 16




        There is also nothing oxymoronic about the phrase “first names” in the plural, any more than First Nations or “the first ten minutes of the game” are oxymorons. Only one entity can be first, but there is nothing oxymoronic about that entity being a group consisting of sub-entities.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 10:42






      • 3




        @phoog I’m sure that is true. The reverse is also true in some places, that you may have as as many first and last names as you want, but only one middle name. I've also heard people claim that you can't have a middle name if you have four names. Americans saying they have multiple first or last names are common enough, too. I'm sure some do make the distinction Peter mentions, but there is far too much variation to make any kind of blanket statement on “the usual phrase (in western English)”.
        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
        Sep 2 '17 at 14:39







      1




      1




      Terminology The usual phrase (in western English) is "given names", because "first names" (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first. This includes first name and "middle names", but not the family name (because your parents didn't have to choose that). (Some people use one of their given names other than the first one as their primary name, and would write their name with a first initial instead of a middle initial in a context where you don't expand all your given names.)
      – Peter Cordes
      Sep 1 '17 at 19:10





      Terminology The usual phrase (in western English) is "given names", because "first names" (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first. This includes first name and "middle names", but not the family name (because your parents didn't have to choose that). (Some people use one of their given names other than the first one as their primary name, and would write their name with a first initial instead of a middle initial in a context where you don't expand all your given names.)
      – Peter Cordes
      Sep 1 '17 at 19:10





      6




      6




      @PeterCordes: "The usual phrase (in western English) is 'given names', because 'first names' (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first." - that would make the "top ten" and the "best [ones] of the best" oxymorons, as well. Avoiding the very confusion the OP is asking about seems like a likelier reason to prefer given names over first names.
      – O. R. Mapper
      Sep 1 '17 at 20:31




      @PeterCordes: "The usual phrase (in western English) is 'given names', because 'first names' (plural) is an oxymoron: only one can actually be first." - that would make the "top ten" and the "best [ones] of the best" oxymorons, as well. Avoiding the very confusion the OP is asking about seems like a likelier reason to prefer given names over first names.
      – O. R. Mapper
      Sep 1 '17 at 20:31




      2




      2




      @PeterCordes That is not true at all, at least far from universally so. If you look them up in most dictionaries, ‘first name’ and ‘given name’ are given as synonyms, which mirrors my own personal experience exactly. You can have several first/given names, and if you normally use just one of them, then you’d also call that your first/given name. My dad has two first names but only ever uses the second one except when filling in forms; his second first name is his first name (= primary name), while his first first name is a first name of his.
      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Sep 2 '17 at 10:40




      @PeterCordes That is not true at all, at least far from universally so. If you look them up in most dictionaries, ‘first name’ and ‘given name’ are given as synonyms, which mirrors my own personal experience exactly. You can have several first/given names, and if you normally use just one of them, then you’d also call that your first/given name. My dad has two first names but only ever uses the second one except when filling in forms; his second first name is his first name (= primary name), while his first first name is a first name of his.
      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Sep 2 '17 at 10:40




      16




      16




      There is also nothing oxymoronic about the phrase “first names” in the plural, any more than First Nations or “the first ten minutes of the game” are oxymorons. Only one entity can be first, but there is nothing oxymoronic about that entity being a group consisting of sub-entities.
      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Sep 2 '17 at 10:42




      There is also nothing oxymoronic about the phrase “first names” in the plural, any more than First Nations or “the first ten minutes of the game” are oxymorons. Only one entity can be first, but there is nothing oxymoronic about that entity being a group consisting of sub-entities.
      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Sep 2 '17 at 10:42




      3




      3




      @phoog I’m sure that is true. The reverse is also true in some places, that you may have as as many first and last names as you want, but only one middle name. I've also heard people claim that you can't have a middle name if you have four names. Americans saying they have multiple first or last names are common enough, too. I'm sure some do make the distinction Peter mentions, but there is far too much variation to make any kind of blanket statement on “the usual phrase (in western English)”.
      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Sep 2 '17 at 14:39




      @phoog I’m sure that is true. The reverse is also true in some places, that you may have as as many first and last names as you want, but only one middle name. I've also heard people claim that you can't have a middle name if you have four names. Americans saying they have multiple first or last names are common enough, too. I'm sure some do make the distinction Peter mentions, but there is far too much variation to make any kind of blanket statement on “the usual phrase (in western English)”.
      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Sep 2 '17 at 14:39










      up vote
      1
      down vote













      I agree with other answers here that if this is for an airline ticket booking you should transfer what's stated in your passport to the airline ticket – that is, if this is for international travel.



      First name and last name are an entirely western language concept. More generic (and culturally more sensitive) would be to use given name and family name. Since names in China and other cultures put the family name before the given name, first and last name don't make sense here anymore, though I find that many people in cultures with reversed "first name" "last name" are aware of that.



      In addition to your purely Chinese name (Wong Qin Qing, seemingly a Catonese/Mandarin mix) in family namegiven name order, you also have a western style name (Minnie Wong, whereby "Minnie" is probably the given name you chose) in given namefamily name order. When you mix both it could lead to confusion beyond identifying you. So it would be best to be "Minnie Wong" to your western friends/colleagues or in Hong Kong, where that's more common, and be "Wong Qin Qing" or "Wang Qin Qing" in your (mainland) Chinese circle.






      share|improve this answer
























        up vote
        1
        down vote













        I agree with other answers here that if this is for an airline ticket booking you should transfer what's stated in your passport to the airline ticket – that is, if this is for international travel.



        First name and last name are an entirely western language concept. More generic (and culturally more sensitive) would be to use given name and family name. Since names in China and other cultures put the family name before the given name, first and last name don't make sense here anymore, though I find that many people in cultures with reversed "first name" "last name" are aware of that.



        In addition to your purely Chinese name (Wong Qin Qing, seemingly a Catonese/Mandarin mix) in family namegiven name order, you also have a western style name (Minnie Wong, whereby "Minnie" is probably the given name you chose) in given namefamily name order. When you mix both it could lead to confusion beyond identifying you. So it would be best to be "Minnie Wong" to your western friends/colleagues or in Hong Kong, where that's more common, and be "Wong Qin Qing" or "Wang Qin Qing" in your (mainland) Chinese circle.






        share|improve this answer






















          up vote
          1
          down vote










          up vote
          1
          down vote









          I agree with other answers here that if this is for an airline ticket booking you should transfer what's stated in your passport to the airline ticket – that is, if this is for international travel.



          First name and last name are an entirely western language concept. More generic (and culturally more sensitive) would be to use given name and family name. Since names in China and other cultures put the family name before the given name, first and last name don't make sense here anymore, though I find that many people in cultures with reversed "first name" "last name" are aware of that.



          In addition to your purely Chinese name (Wong Qin Qing, seemingly a Catonese/Mandarin mix) in family namegiven name order, you also have a western style name (Minnie Wong, whereby "Minnie" is probably the given name you chose) in given namefamily name order. When you mix both it could lead to confusion beyond identifying you. So it would be best to be "Minnie Wong" to your western friends/colleagues or in Hong Kong, where that's more common, and be "Wong Qin Qing" or "Wang Qin Qing" in your (mainland) Chinese circle.






          share|improve this answer












          I agree with other answers here that if this is for an airline ticket booking you should transfer what's stated in your passport to the airline ticket – that is, if this is for international travel.



          First name and last name are an entirely western language concept. More generic (and culturally more sensitive) would be to use given name and family name. Since names in China and other cultures put the family name before the given name, first and last name don't make sense here anymore, though I find that many people in cultures with reversed "first name" "last name" are aware of that.



          In addition to your purely Chinese name (Wong Qin Qing, seemingly a Catonese/Mandarin mix) in family namegiven name order, you also have a western style name (Minnie Wong, whereby "Minnie" is probably the given name you chose) in given namefamily name order. When you mix both it could lead to confusion beyond identifying you. So it would be best to be "Minnie Wong" to your western friends/colleagues or in Hong Kong, where that's more common, and be "Wong Qin Qing" or "Wang Qin Qing" in your (mainland) Chinese circle.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered Sep 4 '17 at 11:12









          Alex Ixeras

          1113




          1113




















              up vote
              1
              down vote













              I am sure you are Chinese but not China residence, maybe Malaysian Chinese or Singaporean Chinese, am I right?
              I face this same issue before.
              Your passport printed Minnie Wong Qin Qing, am i right?
              Minnie is your Christian / English name.
              Wong is your family name
              Qin Qing is your name.



              While you make the flight booking, make in this way:
              First name: Qin Qing
              Last name: Winnie Wong



              Only in this way, while print out your boarding pass, it will show Winnie Wong / Qin Qing, you wouldn't face any problem boarding.
              This issue actually is suffering many people before, the airline also advice change the first name, last name as formal format Given name, Surname.



              Remember, while flight boarding, they only recognize what word type in your passport, if your passport only write as Winnie Wong Qin Qing, don't book your flight with Winnie 黄青青!
              But some country passport comes with Chinese Mandarin word and English word, they are safe with both, example Taiwan ROC.



              Happy Safe Flight.






              share|improve this answer
























                up vote
                1
                down vote













                I am sure you are Chinese but not China residence, maybe Malaysian Chinese or Singaporean Chinese, am I right?
                I face this same issue before.
                Your passport printed Minnie Wong Qin Qing, am i right?
                Minnie is your Christian / English name.
                Wong is your family name
                Qin Qing is your name.



                While you make the flight booking, make in this way:
                First name: Qin Qing
                Last name: Winnie Wong



                Only in this way, while print out your boarding pass, it will show Winnie Wong / Qin Qing, you wouldn't face any problem boarding.
                This issue actually is suffering many people before, the airline also advice change the first name, last name as formal format Given name, Surname.



                Remember, while flight boarding, they only recognize what word type in your passport, if your passport only write as Winnie Wong Qin Qing, don't book your flight with Winnie 黄青青!
                But some country passport comes with Chinese Mandarin word and English word, they are safe with both, example Taiwan ROC.



                Happy Safe Flight.






                share|improve this answer






















                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote









                  I am sure you are Chinese but not China residence, maybe Malaysian Chinese or Singaporean Chinese, am I right?
                  I face this same issue before.
                  Your passport printed Minnie Wong Qin Qing, am i right?
                  Minnie is your Christian / English name.
                  Wong is your family name
                  Qin Qing is your name.



                  While you make the flight booking, make in this way:
                  First name: Qin Qing
                  Last name: Winnie Wong



                  Only in this way, while print out your boarding pass, it will show Winnie Wong / Qin Qing, you wouldn't face any problem boarding.
                  This issue actually is suffering many people before, the airline also advice change the first name, last name as formal format Given name, Surname.



                  Remember, while flight boarding, they only recognize what word type in your passport, if your passport only write as Winnie Wong Qin Qing, don't book your flight with Winnie 黄青青!
                  But some country passport comes with Chinese Mandarin word and English word, they are safe with both, example Taiwan ROC.



                  Happy Safe Flight.






                  share|improve this answer












                  I am sure you are Chinese but not China residence, maybe Malaysian Chinese or Singaporean Chinese, am I right?
                  I face this same issue before.
                  Your passport printed Minnie Wong Qin Qing, am i right?
                  Minnie is your Christian / English name.
                  Wong is your family name
                  Qin Qing is your name.



                  While you make the flight booking, make in this way:
                  First name: Qin Qing
                  Last name: Winnie Wong



                  Only in this way, while print out your boarding pass, it will show Winnie Wong / Qin Qing, you wouldn't face any problem boarding.
                  This issue actually is suffering many people before, the airline also advice change the first name, last name as formal format Given name, Surname.



                  Remember, while flight boarding, they only recognize what word type in your passport, if your passport only write as Winnie Wong Qin Qing, don't book your flight with Winnie 黄青青!
                  But some country passport comes with Chinese Mandarin word and English word, they are safe with both, example Taiwan ROC.



                  Happy Safe Flight.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Jan 9 at 4:46









                  Jackson

                  111




                  111




















                      up vote
                      -2
                      down vote













                      if you have a brother or sister then the commun words in your full name is the last name (last name = family name).



                      And the rest word or words is your first name it's also the given name par your parent to you.






                      share|improve this answer
















                      • 5




                        This doesn't work in all languages/cultures or all situations. In some cultures children of different genders inherit different family names (which may or may not be inflected forms of the same name). In other cases a child may be born before the parents are married, and take the mother's surname, then the parents marry, a sibling is born, but the first child's surname isn't changed. Or many other examples
                        – Chris H
                        Sep 4 '17 at 8:34






                      • 1




                        @ChrisH Or indeed the parents may simply choose to pass the mother’s family name on to one child and the father’s onto another, even if they are married all along.
                        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                        Sep 4 '17 at 15:31






                      • 1




                        @JanusBahsJacquet indeed. There are many cases. A specific example occurred to me which was why I used it.
                        – Chris H
                        Sep 4 '17 at 15:33














                      up vote
                      -2
                      down vote













                      if you have a brother or sister then the commun words in your full name is the last name (last name = family name).



                      And the rest word or words is your first name it's also the given name par your parent to you.






                      share|improve this answer
















                      • 5




                        This doesn't work in all languages/cultures or all situations. In some cultures children of different genders inherit different family names (which may or may not be inflected forms of the same name). In other cases a child may be born before the parents are married, and take the mother's surname, then the parents marry, a sibling is born, but the first child's surname isn't changed. Or many other examples
                        – Chris H
                        Sep 4 '17 at 8:34






                      • 1




                        @ChrisH Or indeed the parents may simply choose to pass the mother’s family name on to one child and the father’s onto another, even if they are married all along.
                        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                        Sep 4 '17 at 15:31






                      • 1




                        @JanusBahsJacquet indeed. There are many cases. A specific example occurred to me which was why I used it.
                        – Chris H
                        Sep 4 '17 at 15:33












                      up vote
                      -2
                      down vote










                      up vote
                      -2
                      down vote









                      if you have a brother or sister then the commun words in your full name is the last name (last name = family name).



                      And the rest word or words is your first name it's also the given name par your parent to you.






                      share|improve this answer












                      if you have a brother or sister then the commun words in your full name is the last name (last name = family name).



                      And the rest word or words is your first name it's also the given name par your parent to you.







                      share|improve this answer












                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer










                      answered Sep 4 '17 at 1:07









                      Benwest

                      1




                      1







                      • 5




                        This doesn't work in all languages/cultures or all situations. In some cultures children of different genders inherit different family names (which may or may not be inflected forms of the same name). In other cases a child may be born before the parents are married, and take the mother's surname, then the parents marry, a sibling is born, but the first child's surname isn't changed. Or many other examples
                        – Chris H
                        Sep 4 '17 at 8:34






                      • 1




                        @ChrisH Or indeed the parents may simply choose to pass the mother’s family name on to one child and the father’s onto another, even if they are married all along.
                        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                        Sep 4 '17 at 15:31






                      • 1




                        @JanusBahsJacquet indeed. There are many cases. A specific example occurred to me which was why I used it.
                        – Chris H
                        Sep 4 '17 at 15:33












                      • 5




                        This doesn't work in all languages/cultures or all situations. In some cultures children of different genders inherit different family names (which may or may not be inflected forms of the same name). In other cases a child may be born before the parents are married, and take the mother's surname, then the parents marry, a sibling is born, but the first child's surname isn't changed. Or many other examples
                        – Chris H
                        Sep 4 '17 at 8:34






                      • 1




                        @ChrisH Or indeed the parents may simply choose to pass the mother’s family name on to one child and the father’s onto another, even if they are married all along.
                        – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                        Sep 4 '17 at 15:31






                      • 1




                        @JanusBahsJacquet indeed. There are many cases. A specific example occurred to me which was why I used it.
                        – Chris H
                        Sep 4 '17 at 15:33







                      5




                      5




                      This doesn't work in all languages/cultures or all situations. In some cultures children of different genders inherit different family names (which may or may not be inflected forms of the same name). In other cases a child may be born before the parents are married, and take the mother's surname, then the parents marry, a sibling is born, but the first child's surname isn't changed. Or many other examples
                      – Chris H
                      Sep 4 '17 at 8:34




                      This doesn't work in all languages/cultures or all situations. In some cultures children of different genders inherit different family names (which may or may not be inflected forms of the same name). In other cases a child may be born before the parents are married, and take the mother's surname, then the parents marry, a sibling is born, but the first child's surname isn't changed. Or many other examples
                      – Chris H
                      Sep 4 '17 at 8:34




                      1




                      1




                      @ChrisH Or indeed the parents may simply choose to pass the mother’s family name on to one child and the father’s onto another, even if they are married all along.
                      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                      Sep 4 '17 at 15:31




                      @ChrisH Or indeed the parents may simply choose to pass the mother’s family name on to one child and the father’s onto another, even if they are married all along.
                      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                      Sep 4 '17 at 15:31




                      1




                      1




                      @JanusBahsJacquet indeed. There are many cases. A specific example occurred to me which was why I used it.
                      – Chris H
                      Sep 4 '17 at 15:33




                      @JanusBahsJacquet indeed. There are many cases. A specific example occurred to me which was why I used it.
                      – Chris H
                      Sep 4 '17 at 15:33

















                       

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