I like my last name. Last year in seventh grade, I was the only person with a last name that started with 'Q'. It made me feel kind-of special! It does get annoying when people pronounce it incorrectly over and over again though (It's supposed to sound like Chin). If you wanted to know some background information on my last name... here is some! On my family tree (it goes back way back), my ancestors' last name used to be 'Ying'. ((
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200602/20/eng20060220_244270.html)) Qin was a state in China during a time of internal troubles and long periods of fighting. Whether I'm related to Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor of China) or not, will remain a mystery lost to the sands of time. On my family tree which is located in Zhangjiajie, China, a huge part of the upper list is burned off, so who knows what it contained?
Last names in my opinion, identify you from the millions of other people in the world. There are probably millions of other people named 'Alex,' but my last name certainly narrows down the list of people with the same name as me. Recently, I overheard my mom talking to my grandparents who live in China, and I heard that they were upset that the 'Chen' family name would be dying with them. My grandparents had two children -- both girls. When I went to say 'hi' to them, they asked me to change my last name to 'Chen'. I personally, don't mind changing my last name, but I also don't see what the big deal about this is. I suppose that since my grandparents come from a different time period, then their values may be different than mine.
I can't imagine myself as 'Alexander Lei Chen,' but nonetheless, I'll always be Alex. It's been a nagging thought in my head... does your last name affect your personality? I've heard some reports of how your first name can affect your personality, but what about your last name? If my last name had always been 'Chen' instead of 'Qin' would I be a different person?
So, do you like your last name? Also, how do you think your last name contributes to a person's identity?
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