Chinese names follow conventions different from those of the West.  Surnames come first and given names come second.  Surnames come in two flavors: single or double character.  Double character surnames grew from the combination of single character surnames through marriage.  Some double character surnames also have foreign roots with non-Han origins.  The vast majority of surnames, however, possess only one character.  Married Chinese women usually retain their maiden names as their family name.  Only children inherit the surnames of their fathers.

Given names again come in two flavors: single or double character names.  In China, single character names are more common, while the reverse is true for places like Hong Kong and Taiwan.  Given names with two characters often have their first character as a generational name.  Children born in the same generation into the family are all share the same generational name.  These names usually follow a predetermined cycle established in advance.  As mentioned earlier, given names often reflect the the aspirations of the parents for their children.

My name is Wen Zesheng (温則聖). Wen is my surname.  It is pronounced with the first tone (high tone) in Modern Standard Mandarin.  It is also the surname of the premier of China, Wen Jiabao.  Ze is the generational component of my given name.  It is pronounced with the second tone (rising tone) in MSM.  I share this with my brother.  Sheng is pronounced with the fourth tone (falling tone) and it is really the part that is just my own.

What's in name?  When I really stop to think about it, my grandfather really outdid himself with this one.  Zesheng is a name loaded, simply loaded with meaning.  Ze (則) in classical Chinese can mean "to follow" with "to become" being understood.  Sheng (聖) has two potential readings.  In the Eastern reading, it refers to profound scholarship.  People who can be described with this character possess abilities that border the otherworldly.  Confucius is often honored with this character.  In a Western reading, Sheng translates to "holy."  Western religions often use this character to attribute holiness someone or something.  Putting together the two characters, the name can can either mean "to follow the scholar" or "to follow the holy."  Using a classical reading, my name is actually a sentence: "The one called Wen follows to become a scholar" or ""The one called Wen follows to become holy."