Well, in the Chinese culture, we have a term generational name, or 字辈 in Chinese, which could be seen in some Chinese people’s names. And the notion full name in the Chinese culture could refer to a name comprised of a surname, a generational name and a given name, or a name comprised of a surname and a given name. Now, let’s see two examples.
Both names 刘敏涛, or Liu Mintao in Pinyin, and 刘涛, or Liu Tao in Pinyin, share the same surname 刘 and the same given name 涛, which could mean big wave. The difference between them is that the former one has a generational name 敏, which could mean nimble and agile, whereas the latter one doesn’t have a generational name. And both are full names.
Here is a picture of Liu Mintao, an actress from mainland China.
Here is a picture of Liu Tao, an actress from mainland China.
