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Why my Chinese name is 王哲生

Aug 21, 2026

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In short: 哲生 is translated from my Thai name, and 王 is my father’s Chinese surname. My parents are of Chinese descent but were born in Thailand.

Long story:

1. Foreigners in Taiwan (or Mainland China) are advised to choose a Chinese name. It is more convenient for locals to address us, and many official documents require a Chinese name.
2. I chose 哲生 because my Thai name, “ณัฐชนน” (Nutchanon), means “born to be a philosopher.” Therefore, “philosopher” became 哲 and “born” became 生.
3. The funny thing is that very few Thai people know the meaning of their names unless they ask their parents or look it up online (standard dictionaries rarely list Thai people names). This is because Thai names are usually derived from Pali or Sanskrit—which originate in India—and we have many sophisticated ways of combining words to create names.
4. Thai people also have nicknames because our real names are usually too long to pronounce easily. My nickname is “นน” (Non). We typically use nicknames when addressing one another.
5. There are so many creative ways to choose a Thai nickname. Some of my friends are named “เนย” (Butter), “แฟนต้า” (Fanta, the soft drink brand), “แพนเค้ก” (Pancake), “ยูโร” (Euro), etc. You can choose practically anything, and it doesn’t have to be related to your real name at all.
6. My parents are of Chinese descent. Here is my family’s history:
   • The parents of my paternal grandfather were Chinese merchants who decided to settle in Thailand before World War II started (I estimate it was around that time).
   • As for my paternal grandmother’s parents, I don’t know exactly when they came to Thailand, but I know they were involved in business.
   • The parents of both my maternal grandparents settled in Thailand before the communist era. I don’t know whether they immigrated before or during the Chinese Civil War, but my mother told me they were from a wealthy official’s family back in China, so they had to left before the Communist Party took power.
7. Technically, I’m 100% Chinese by ethnicity, but I just happened to be born in Thailand. Since all four of my grandparents were born in Thailand, I am third-generation Thai-Chinese.
8. Most Thai-Chinese speak Teochew, which I believe is closely related to Taiwanese Hokkien (台語). I’m no linguistics expert, but my Chinese surname, 王, is pronounced “เฮ้ง” (Heng) in the Teochew dialect used in Thailand.
9. Because of nationalist policies enacted by Thailand’s longest-serving military dictator, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, between 1938 and 1957, Thai-Chinese people were forced to abandon their Chinese surnames and adopt Thai surnames. Many Thai-Chinese were very creative when choosing their new Thai surnames, which is why many Thai surnames are so long today. (For instance, one of my friends has the surname “Charoendechthanakit”, which means “prosperous power, wealth, and business.”)
10. My Thai surname is “จริยานุรัตน์” (Jariyanurut), means “One who preserves precious good conduct.”
11. Unlike the Chinese community in Malaysia, Thai-Chinese people are highly assimilated into Thai culture and customs. Almost no Thai-Chinese use Chinese in their everyday lives. My parents cannot speak Chinese, and I had to start learning Chinese when I came to Taiwan. Our grandparents could speak Teochew, but not Mandarin Chinese.
12. Another reason I chose the name 哲生 is that it can also be read in Japanese. (てつお)