From the first half of the 20th century onward, as China began to modernize, the practice of taking zi and hao began to die out. Today, most Chinese have only xing and ming. Against this backdrop, the current trend toward taking English names can be viewed as a form of cultural resurgence — a continuation of ancient tradition with a modern twist.

从20世纪上半叶开始，中国开始现代化进程，人们给自己取字和号的做法开始慢慢消失。如今的大多数中国人只有姓和名。在这个大背景下，目前取英文名的做法可以看做是某种意义上的文化复兴——一种古老取名文化的延续，不过是带了一点现代的色彩。

More accurately, English names today play the same role as hao did in traditional China. Both are self-chosen and aim to reveal an aspect of the individual’s personality. In imperial China, the literati would commonly hold several hao at the same time, each intended to shine a light on a different side of their characters or reflect a valuable experience from their lives.

准确一点来讲，如今的英文名就相当于从前的号。二者都是自己选择的，而且都是为了展示这个人的某一侧面。在封建时代，中国的士大夫们通常会同时拥有很多个号。每一个号都是为了凸显他们个性中不同的侧面，或者是为了反映出生活中宝贵的经历。

In the same way that one’s hao was bound by certain social conventions, so are English names subject to certain rules. In today’s China, English names may be commonly used among Chinese colleagues in the workplace but almost never in a familial context or among best friends.

号受到特定社会习俗的约束，同样地，英文名也需要遵循特定规则。当今中国，英文名在职场的同事之间使用得很广泛，但家人之间和亲密朋友之间并不会称呼对方英文名。

As a form of address, English names imply a certain amount of distance between speakers. In this way, these adopted monikers allow people to embody different social identities, in the same way that xing, ming, and hao denoted social boundaries in former times.

作为称呼的一种形式，英文名自带一点点距离感。这样一来，人们使用这些代号来体现自己的不同社会身份，这一点和过去的姓、名，以及号一样，象征着社会界限。

明星们的名字会受到各种因素的影响：市场宣推的需要、个人的文化认同等等。

但不可否认的一点是，从来就不是名字定义了你，而是，你定义了你的名字。

你有过英文名吗？取名的时候是什么想法呢？