i wonder if this is the right place to post this topic. i have been trying to register for the SAT test. as i am i chinese, i am confused with what i should fill in the columns of "first name" and "last name".



This post has been edited by icycokes: Oct 29 2013, 11:13 PM

i think thats correct.. last name should be the family name..

I thought last name = surname/ family name?

I think that's correct, last name is your family surname which is Goh in your case.

i can confirm for sure that GOH is ur family/last/surname, while yin shen is ur first/given name.

so it will be written as Yin Shen Goh. another convention that the europeans have adopted is to capitalize the surname, like Yin SHen GOH.

There are 3 ways of dealing with Chinese names in the western context. Using your example, some people hyphenate the two words, so you end up being Yin-Shen Goh, with Yin-Shen being your name. Most Taiwanese follow this convention when writing their names with alphabets (just look at all the Taiwanese presidents).

The other way is to follow the PRC convention, and make them one "word". So your name will be Yinshen Goh. The only downside is that your name will be mispronounced a bit more than one would like.

Finally, the Malaysian/Singaporean convention is to just switch your name around, so your name is written as Yin Shen Goh. The downside to this is when you are called (in class, bank etc), you end up being Mr Yin Goh, as generally the "shen" is treated as a middle name and not generally used.

Wait till you see the "fun" I have with a English name. I really wish Malaysian passports would have a surname field. But I am aware that the Malay's and Indian's don't have a surname.

well thanks khairolnizam, Monya Meow Meow, azarimy and haya for the reply!

if it is in that case, do you all mean "yin shen goh" is actually same with "goh yin shen". because i am registered with SAT as "yin shen goh", i am pretty sure the name that will appear on my SAT admission ticket will be this one. am i ask to check ID before the test like SPM? if so, are both my name in different order the same and accepted?

i am worried that i won't be entitle to the test just because of the name!

This post has been edited by icycokes: Dec 17 2008, 12:05 PM

First Name : Yin Shen
Last Name : Goh

---------------------------------------------------
If you have an English name then,
First Name : James Yin Shen
Last Name : Goh

-----------------------------------------------------
Chinese no middle name , only ang moh got . for example,
First Name : Hilary
Middle Name : Rodney
Last Name : Clinton

so whatever it is, my last name is always "goh" ?

i should just ignore the different between "yin shen goh" and "goh yin shen" because they are both recognized as the same?

This post has been edited by icycokes: Dec 17 2008, 12:15 PM

generally they are the same, but in some cases, you will need to get a lawyer to certify that both name are belongs to the same person, but in different arrangement.

as for SAT examination, it should be fine.

and yes, your last name is always Goh.

thanks youngkies. now i can register my SAT without worry!

good luck icycokes

usually my name charles lim tseng hin

1st charles
last lim
middle tseng hin

Make sure when you apply for universities, you make it very clear that your surname is Goh. I have had experiences where on the SAT the surname is Goh, but when applying to universities, something gets mangled up, and they think that Shen is the surname. If they can't find "Mr Shen"'s SAT results, well, no offer.

Gnerally it's not only for exams. When you guys comes to the real world; i.e. working society it is mostly also following that format when it comes to filling up forms.
Go AirAsia and you'll see whereby they would "remind" us that Last name is our surname.

First name is ur given name, i.e. Sharon, Lucy, Nancy, Bill, George or Siew Yee

While last name is ur Family name, a.k.a. surname. I.e. Bush, Clinton, Badawi (for Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi), Lee, Chan

cleared?

This post has been edited by yapws: Dec 17 2008, 04:47 PM

well,
normally, the name will start with yin shen, Goh.
if u aware of most of the name tag, for chinese, always start with you first name, follow by last name : example: goh yin shen. will become
Y.S. Goh.

I am also confuse... there's one application where i need to fill in my name and they break it down into first name, middle name and family name..yes..its middle name not last name...its a japanese scholarship... lets say my name is Angelina Yeoh Siew Ling... whenever i try to fit in, it looks weird.. family name is of course our surname so i put it as Yeoh.. the problem is with first namer and middle name.. should my first name be Angelina?? then middle name is Siew Ling?? when combine will be Angelina SIew Ling Yeoh.. anyone can help?

jus put it as Angelina Yeoh S. L.

surname Yeoh

First Angelina S.L.


but i guessing oni



ur nickname is even more confusing
iziit
F40 like in Ford F40
or Fate
or fatty

This post has been edited by CarroTT: Dec 18 2008, 11:33 AM

cannot simply put initial..cuz this is formal application form have to break it down into family name, first name and middle name...

my nick is suppose to be confusing...haha

Is the middle name compulsory? I don't think so. If I were in that situation (where there are fields for First names, middle names) I would put Angelina Siew Ling as my First name, and leave the middle name blank.

Yeoh will then be the surname.

As I said, it is a mess for those who ethnic Chinese who have a English name. They surname ends up being in the middle, with causes no end of confusion when faced with different cultures.

Very informative. So you have:

Taiwan: Yin-Shen Goh
PRC: Yinshen Goh
Malaysia: Yin Shen Goh

Here is another short form:
Yin S. Goh
(First Name) (Middle name as initial only) (Last or Surname)

So you should not be surprised if your Western friend starts to call you Yin

my skool supervisor is Dr. Hnin Pwint Aung

in myanmar, their surname is on the back, thus Aung

but here mostly call her Dr. Hnin, including me


i tink in vietnam oso same

I dunno if its a good idea to omitt the middle name... looks weird on the application form...even if i put the first name so long when combine it still read out funnily --> Yeoh Angelina Siew Ling

Angelina S.L. Yeoh

Or it can be

Goh, Yin Shen

Last Name, First Name

This post has been edited by HanYH: Dec 18 2008, 07:36 PM

Family name will considered as surname/last name and then your name after your family name will be first name. If you have English name, then it will become like this:

i.e: Edison Lee Yong Seng

In first and last name mode, it will be Lee Edison Yong Seng/ Yong Seng Edison Lee.

u r sure?? i trust u k?

It common for people not to know the middle name of their friend in Western country, hence initial will suffice. Normally, only close friend bother to find out what the initial S.L. means.

Let's do a little experiment here. Without checking on Internet, how many of you know what does the "W" in George W. Bush stands for?

I personally hate the last convention. I an aware that in the western system, Mr John Adam Smith will become Smith, Adam John when put in the US system. Where the given name is at the right. So it does get mangled when parsed into the Chinese name context, ie "Lee, Edison Yong Seng". You end up being called Mr Seng.

I really think it all depends on where you are going. In the British system (UK, Australia, New Zealand), making yourself "Edison Yong Seng Lee" hasn't given me any problems thus far.

A good convention in academia, is to underline your surname when handing in reports/assignments.

W is for washington right?..

the name all so funny can it cause trouble?? like my passport put my name in correct order then when i submit application form when they process it if i get over to japan then see different arrangement how?

As I said, it does cause some confusion, but not "trouble". I bet the name in your passport is in the format of "Angelina Yeoh Siew Ling". You just have to tell them that "Yeoh" is your surname. 99.9% of the time they would understand. 0.01% of the time they don't really care.

but when doing formal things like government stuff they wont be strict and want it to be completely same?? cuz they will have questions about my identity and want me to prove that my name is so and stuff like dat?? if unformal sure can understand...but when come to formal paper stuff will it be difficult?? anyone got experience b4?

I cannot say for Japan (firstly, AFAIK Alien Registration cards are in Japanese. Do they allow Katakana?), but in Australia and New Zealand, even when dealing with the government they are generally understanding, if you show them the right documentation. Your passport, and to a lesser extent, your student card is the best thing. Generally they should be different columns for Given name and Surname in forms. As long as your are consistent (Ie "Angelina Siew Ling Yeoh") you should be fine.

I have heard of stories of Malaysian's studying in Japan adopting 日本語 names (in 漢字 no less), even if they are not ethnic Chinese (the Japan-JPA program is only open to Bumiputera's).

my name is Jason Sim Ching Sern

My last name is Sim
My First name can be Jason / Ching Sern

so is the first (Goh Yin Shen)?

second (James Goh Yin Shen)?

thrid (Hilary Clinton Rodney)?

goh is you last name

swt. first name is ur name. eg ah kau. ah mao. ah mu. ah sou.

ur last name would be the name where u follow ur dad la.

eg. tan. wong. au yong.


hehe. jsut my 2cents.

the brits often confuse and assumed my surname is Yasir and not Mat Yasir. letters often go to the wrong mailbox, filed under the wrong category and so on. so i can only imagine the problems the chinese, korean and japanese have with a frontal surname.

so i've adopted the convention of capitalizing or underlining my surname like so:

Azari MAT YASIR
Azari Mat Yasir

this is a convention that they accept when u dont have a box for surname and first name. use it. make ur life easier.

hmmm
its different culture that makes all those confusing.

first name - your given name like hook chin or whatever
last name - surname like lee, ong, ooi.

sometimes not easy because we got surname given chinese name n english name as well.

Daniel Lim Ah Beng = Daniel Ah Beng, LIM

and how about when they ask for middle name

First name: Yin Shen
Last Name: Goh

hi

if example: Chap Goh Meh

all pipu call my boss ms chap..

so her first sanem should be Goh Meh last name Chap?