Chiang Kai-shek's "birth name"

I am told by a Chinese friend that Chiang Kai-shek had a name which his parents used when he was very little. It was Rei Yuan. I believe the tones are Rei4 Yuan2.

I am not sure of the characters, but I am told the Rei is “as in Switzerland” and the Yuan “as in money.”

I am also told that there is an American who regularly posts on these Forums who has the same name!!!

Can anyone confirm and/or explain any of this?

Not quite what you’re asking for, but you might find it interesting anyway. Here’s a little thread about Sun Yat-Sen’s name: forumosa.com/3/viewtopic.php?t=1571

If it’s the same character as in Switzerland, it would be “rui-4” and not “rei-4” (there is no “rei” phoneme in Mandarin). Back in the day, Chinese had lots of names … the one’s your parents gave you (and only they or the emperor could use that name), and several other names. Naming is a very important part of Chinese culture. Nowadays though people only have a “xing” and “mingzi”.

Chiang Kai-shek had several different names: