Hello,
In Taiwan, many families give no blessing to same last-name marriages. :shock:
Just out of curiosity, I wonder that in your own country, will people face the same problems?
:?:
My wife and I are both surnamed Huang. Her parents too. I heard that it’s quite rare but what you just said is news to me.
It’s done all the time in the Carolinas. Just ask Blueface.
When you say ‘last name’ do you mean family name ? I think there is some sort of taboo about marrying someone with the same 3rd character ?
It’s a bit bad if your name is Chen, 10% of the population is off limits to you. In Korea it’s even worse, 43% of the population is either Kim, Lee or Park, and it’s illegal to marry someone with the same family name.
Back home, I know a Chris Smith who married another Chris Smith. But if 2 people with the same rare surname married, you might have to wonder if they are related. But I don’t how you can say that 2 random Chens or Kims are related…
On subject of surnames, in UK now it is not considered unusual for a woman to keep her maiden name when she gets married.
[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”]When you say ‘last name’ do you mean family name ? I think there is some sort of taboo about marrying someone with the same 3rd character ?
It’s a bit bad if your name is Chen.[/quote]
You are right. I mean family name. Last week I tried to be a matchmaker and introduced a girl to my college classmate. However, their family names are both “CHEN.” It’s a taboo to my classmate. So I spare my time to do that.
Taiwanese keep a map of bloodlines (I heard that Mormons do the same thing too) so it is very possible to find out the ties.
[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”]When you say ‘last name’ do you mean family name ? I think there is some sort of taboo about marrying someone with the same 3rd character ?
It’s a bit bad if your name is Chen, 10% of the population is off limits to you. In Korea it’s even worse, 43% of the population is either Kim, Lee or Park, and it’s illegal to marry someone with the same family name.
Back home, I know a Chris Smith who married another Chris Smith. But if 2 people with the same rare surname married, you might have to wonder if they are related. But I don’t how you can say that 2 random Chens or Kims are related…[/quote]
Well as I understand the Chinese taboo, it arises from the belief that all people with the same last name is in the same family tree. Suppositely, if you trace it back enough, you will find out that there is a common ancestor.
I understand the evolution of the surname in western culture as that some surname evolved from the occupation of the person. One of the reason that there are a lot of Smith out there, is the fact that there were a lot of professions with that name. Like goldsmith, blacksmith, etc. The smith got used as the last name of people. Since the surname evolved from professional instead of family, there is minimal risk of marrying someone from your family tree.
Mark