From Xinhua, translated by CDT:
“Pig” year is gone and the “Rat” year comes. Have you ever thought that there are Chinese named after pigs and rats? It is true.
According to the Ministry of Public Security’s citizen ID service center, more than 7,000 Chinese names include “Pig” and more than 4,000 people have “rat” in their names.
Twenty percent of the people with “pig” in their names were born in the year of the pig, while 54% of people with “mouse” in their names were born in the year of the mouse.
“Little Pig” “Old Pig” and “ Golden Pig” are the most commonly selected names. Guangdong province ranks first in China for more than 2,000 people with “Pig” in their names. This is followed by Fujian and Shanxi provinces. Both have more than 900 people named after pigs.
“Rat” is a common name, but “Old Rat”, “Golden Rat”, “Jade Rat” are popular, too. Gansu and Shanxi both have more than 1,000 people named after rats. Beijing, Shandong, Hainan, Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang have less than 10 people with “Rat” in their names.
