Most Common Given Names in Taiwan Remain Unchanged|全台姓名統計 "家豪.淑芬"蟬聯冠軍

What Does Your Name say About You? As names go in and out of fashion, your name will probably tell people your age. If you are called Cheng-En" and "Yong-Qing", you were probably born after 2011. If you are "Chia-Hao" and "Shu-Fen", your parents might want you to fit in as they have been the most popular names for years. And if your last name is Liu, the same as mine, it simply means you are not that young anymore.


Many parents hope to pick good names for their children. However, it's not uncommon for children to accidentally end up with the same given names. According the latest census results from the Ministry of the Interior, the three most common given names for men are "Chia-Hao", "Chih-Ming" and "Chyun-Chieh", whereas "Shu-Fen", "Shu-Hui" and "Mei-Ling" are the most common given names for women. "Chia-Hao" and "Shu-Fen" have remained the most popular names for men and women for many years. The results also showed that over 820,000 people have changed their names in the past eight years.

Those between the age of 27 and 34 saw the biggest number of people who changed their names. People in this age bracket are working hard to establish their life and career. And changing their names is a way of readjusting their expectation for themselves, and to encourage themselves to work harder.

The popular names are different among people born in different eras. Among those who are currently 15 years old, the common games are "Cheng-En" and "Yih-Chen". For those who are born after 2011, "Cheng-En" is still the most popular for boys, whereas "Yong-Ching" is the most popular given name among girls. On the other hand, "Chen" and "Lin" top the list of ten most popular surnames, those surnamed "Chen" account for 11.15 percent of the population in Taiwan. When it comes to aging, the populaiton proportion of seniors to young people of those surnamed "Liu" is the greatest."

Those surnamed "Liu" are aging the quickest. And those surnamed "Cheng" ranked fifth in this regard back in 2016, but in 2018, they are the third quickest aging group. On the other hand, among those surnamed "Hung", we see the highest proportion of youth.

In order to promote gender equality, beginning in 2007, children can adopt mother's surnames. The census results also show that, in the past six years, there has been a gradual increase in children who take on their mothers' surnames. There's also an increase in the name of indigenous people who opt to use their traditional, tribal names.