Abstract: As an essential part of language, people’s names are playing a very dominant role in the cross-cultural communication. This paper intends to make a comparative study on the similarities and differences in Chinese and English personal names and the cultural factors. The comparisons consist of the origin of English and Chinese family names, the structure and development of English and Chinese personal names, English and Chinese attitudes towards personal names and their ways of naming, which reveals that English and Chinese names are influenced by social and cultural factors. The comparative study on the differences and similarities of English and Chinese names and the analysis on their cultural connotations will enhance our awareness of cultural differences between English and Chinese, which will be beneficial to mutual understanding and respect so as to solve intercultural conflict and to communicate effectively.

Key words: English and Chinese names; cultural comparison; cultural connotation; cross-cultural communication

摘要：作为语言的重要组成部分，姓名在跨文化交流的过程中有着举足轻重的地位和作用。本文拟通过对比的方法研究英汉姓名的异同及其所反映的文化内涵。通过对从英汉姓氏的来源、英汉姓名的结构和发展以及英汉对姓名的态度和取名方式这几方面来进行比较，揭示出英汉文化因素对姓名的影响，从而加深我们对英汉文化差异的认识，有助于我们在跨文化际中相互理解和尊重，减少误会与冲突。

关键词：英汉姓名;文化比较;文化内涵;跨文化交流