What's in a name? Your whole life.

Naming is very important in Asia, more important than it is here in the states. Instead of families surnames coming last, they appear first. It is hard to determine gender in an Asian name, and women usually keep their name after marriage, sometimes adding their husbands name to their own, which is similar to the women of Central and South America. One's name in Asia will govern that individuals life. When a child is born, there has to be a "nickname", a more individual name that is specific to that child. The date and time are important, hence the zodiac. The child's parents will take into account all factors of the child's date of birth. The parents will assess the time of year and what events are happening at that time with society and more importantly, within the family. Naming individual children in a family is somewhat easy. There is a formality within the family structure that will help determine the child's surname and name of order. For instance, the first born sons of every family will have the same order name, and the same surname as the rest of the family (which comes first) and the last part of the name which is specific is the "nickname". Asian people are superstitious of their names and accept its meaning as a guide to their life.