<p>From my answer to this question <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23976/what-does-this-symbol-mean/23978#23978">What does this symbol mean?</a> I explained 姓氏 It may be a good reference to your question</p>

<p>From my answer to this question <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/31395/why-is-there-such-a-difference-between-first-name-and-last-name">Why is there such a difference between &quot;first name&quot; and &quot;last name&quot;?</a> I explained 姓 and 名字</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>In the past, most people in high society would have a 姓(family name), a 名 (given name) and a 字 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy_name" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Courtesy name</a>)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Example of using individual characters in 姓氏 and 名字:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>他姓曹 = his last name is 曹</p></li>
<li><p>曹氏一族 = the clan of 曹 family</p></li>
<li><p>他姓曹，名操，字孟德 = his last name is 曹, first name is 操 and his courtesy name is 孟德</p></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-28T09:17:57.930Z
2020-01-28T09:37:36.860Z
2020-01-28T09:37:36.860Z
Tang Ho
<p>姓氏 refers to surname, and 名字 refers to personal name.</p>
<p>But I’ve heard people using the separate characters to talk about surnames and personal names.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我的中文老师姓姚</p>
<p>林氏集团 (Lin’s Corporation, like one of those companies named after their founder)</p>
<p>她名叫小丽</p>
<p>字: I’m not too sure about this one, but I know 李白’s 字 is 太白</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What is the difference between all these?</p>

<mandarin><simplified-characters>
What happens when you use the individual characters in 姓氏 and 名字?
# What happens when you use the individual characters in 姓氏 and 名字?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-01-28)

姓氏 refers to surname, and 名字 refers to personal name.

But I’ve heard people using the separate characters to talk about surnames and personal names.

For example:

> 我的中文老师姓姚
>
> 林氏集团 (Lin’s Corporation, like one of those companies named after their founder)
>
> 她名叫小丽
>
> 字: I’m not too sure about this one, but I know 李白’s 字 is 太白

What is the difference between all these?

**Tags:** mandarin, simplified-characters

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-01-28. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

From my answer to this question [What does this symbol mean?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23976/what-does-this-symbol-mean/23978#23978) I explained 姓氏 It may be a good reference to your question

From my answer to this question [Why is there such a difference between "first name" and "last name"?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/31395/why-is-there-such-a-difference-between-first-name-and-last-name) I explained 姓 and 名字

> In the past, most people in high society would have a 姓(family name), a 名 (given name) and a 字 ([Courtesy name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy_name))

Example of using individual characters in 姓氏 and 名字:

* 他姓曹 = his last name is 曹
* 曹氏一族 = the clan of 曹 family
* 他姓曹，名操，字孟德 = his last name is 曹, first name is 操 and his courtesy name is 孟德


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