Japanese family name

Hi all! Few questions,

1:I'm a Singaporean Chinese and my family name is 許. In my country it's pronounced as "xu3". But I've been told in Japanese there are lots of pronunciation for it, like "kyo", "kyou", "uen" etc. Which would be the correct one?

2:Is the "許" family name in Japan rare?

3:If rare, is it a good or bad thing? Will it be taunted at?

4:I'm also actively seeking for a new Japanese name. Something unique and also nice to hear when paired with my family name, 許. Is there any websites for it? Forum members can suggest too. :) Best if it's a wide array of names! A name I could stick with for years to come :) Oh, I'm male btw.

5:For example, if I take the name of　"Takeshi", it would be 許武 in Kanji. Is it weird to have a full Japanese name with only two or three Kanji characters? I usually see a minimum of 4..

Thanks in advance! :)

if you are changing your name, you may as well change it to a full japanese name (with 4 kanji) to fit in better. although many japanese do infact have 3 kanji names.

mine is a 4 kanji name and i shorten it to 3 for non official things.

but if officially changing the name, just go a japanese name, rather than a japanese reading of your chinese name. i have met some "japanese" (koreans) who introduce themselves as japanese, then tell me their name, and it is the japanese way of reading their korean name... it sounds strange EVERY time, and it alerts me to the fact they are not japanese.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. My lifelong goal is to actually work and play in Japan. I am also actually working for a Japanese company now..

Based on your suggestion, I believe it would be best to change to a full Japanese name? Changing one's name is not difficult here in Singapore. But is it right to just take one Japanese family name I feel is best? Any culture or social impact on this?

I'm asking this because I feel that Japanese people hold strong values to their family names. Like for example, houses in Japan are marked with the owner's family name. So if I were to take a family name say, "Fujiwara" and live the life of a Japanese, is it acceptable?

My lifelong goal is to actually work and play in Japan. I am also actually working for a Japanese company now..

I would consider keeping your current name as it isn't necessary to change to a Japanese name to successfully live and work in Japan. In fact you may find that it has the opposite effect and draws attention to your foreignness rather than allowing you to fit in better. Language, mannerisms, and appearance, will give away the fact that you are not Japanese anyway, so changing to a Japanese name may just serve to confuse people once they meet you.

But is it right to just take one Japanese family name I feel is best? Any culture or social impact on this?

It is acceptable to choose any Japanese name you wish. It used to even be a requirement to those who wished to naturalize. But since you are not Japanese, there is no social or cultural impact other than that you will be a Singaporean that uses a Japanese name.

Hi,

Hm, that is also a good point. Based on your profile I believe you are a Caucasian living in Japan? Could you tell me your experience? Like say, are there any racism you've faced?

I actually have a few collegues who are Chinese but face racism problems in Japan, even though they are not China Chinese themselves, however I believe this seems to be an isolated case.

Also, to be honest I am actually quite unhappy with my current given name. It's a name that survived years of taunting and torment. But that's another story. I also believe that if one has the desire to become a full "native" Japanese it can be achieved no matter the obstacles, am I right?

However, from your post I think I will have to fully consider based on the pros and cons if a name change would be suitable, afterall I have that "foreignness" in me.

Hm, that is also a good point. Based on your profile I believe you are a Caucasian living in Japan? Could you tell me your experience? Like say, are there any racism you've faced?

Actually, I'm a half Japanese, half Chinese American, so it is not too difficult to blend in as long as I don't talk, but once I do its pretty obvious that I'm not Japanese. In fact, language seems to be the biggest giveaway. I have Chinese friends for example that speak excellent Japanese, and so they are always assumed to be Japanese. On the other hand, people reply to my Japanese, half caucasian friend in broken english rather than Japanese despite him speaking perfect Japanese, simply because he has a foreign looking face.

Also, I can't say that I've ever experienced any racism either alone or when accompanied by more obviously foreign friends. I wouldn't worry about racism too much. There are things that some people consider racists (apartment rentals, foreigner registration, etc.), but its not like you are ever in physical danger. And again, being able to speak Japanese can get you through a lot of what some assume to be instances of racism.

Also, to be honest I am actually quite unhappy with my current given name. It's a name that survived years of taunting and torment. But that's another story.

If you don't like your name then that would be reason enough to change it. I'm not saying that you shouldn't change to a Japanese name, just that it isn't a requirement towards living a fulfilling life in Japan. A non-Japanese name doesn't prevent you from doing anything in Japan, and it also won't make you anymore Japanese than you already are.

I also believe that if one has the desire to become a full "native" Japanese it can be achieved no matter the obstacles, am I right?

Sure, no problem as long as you fulfill the requirements for naturalization. First, however, you will need to find a way to come to Japan long term while you work your way towards naturalization (or permanent residency which some people consider as good or better than citizenship). That most likely means you should look into the requirements to get a work visa.


However, from your post I think I will have to fully consider based on the pros and cons if a name change would be suitable, afterall I have that "foreignness" in me.

Haha, yea we all do. Embrace it, that's what make you unique.

You can certainly become a Japanese citizen after many years and a lot of paperwork if you qualify, but you will never be "full native Japanese" and more than I (Caucasian New Zealander) would ever be accepted as a "full native Chinese" or Indian, or native of any country that I didn't grow up in.

Changing your name won't really change that I'm afraid. By all means come to Japan, change your name if you like, but don't get your expectations too high- living here has its pros and cons, just like any other society.

To answer another of your questions, plenty of Japanese do have names with only 3 kanji- my husband does for example since his given name only has one kanji. There are also quite a few one-kanji family names- 林、森、橘 to give a few examples.　許 I don't think is used as a family name here though.

Two kanji names are pretty unusual and I think most parents try to avoid giving their child a one-kanji name if their family name also has only one kanji. I have come across it occasionally though.

magelogy,

1:In Japan, you would normally be called "Kyo" unless you specify otherwise.

2:The "許" family is sometimes seen in Japan, but a person with that family name in Japan would be definately viewed as someone of Chinese origin.

3:I don't think it's a bad thing to have a rare name, but then, I'm not a "許." But then, I have a very rare maiden Japanese name and I was often teased for that, but I didn't mind. They hardly meant harm. Of course, I was teased even more in foreign countries for having a name that was foreign to them (which suited my appearance) and I never minded that either.

5:It's not weird to have a full Japanese name with only two or three Kanji characters. Three is extremely common. Two is rare, but we do see them from time to time, many being purely Japanese names. They usually have a cool image. I suppose most Japanese have the image of a "許" being a Chinese with a two kanji full name.

By the way, racism do exist here as it does in any other country. If you change your name to a very Japanese one, people might think that you are trying to hide your ethnicity just like the Chinese or Korean immigrants used to do especially when racism was harsher back in the days. Nowadays, these people are "coming out" by converting their names back to their original ones, taking pride in their roots.

Either way, it would take you a while to learn to speak/act Japanese enough so that you'd be mistaken for a native. You can't hide your ethnicity that easily. And why hide it anyway?

I don't think you have to change your name to accomodate Japanese customs. 許 is a very fundamenatl Chinese character in Japan, and if you permit the Japanized pronunciation of it as "Kyo", there will be no problem. Not a few people form China or Korea use the original chinese character as their name with Japanized proninciation after obtaining Japanese nationaity.