Why Do Ancient People Dislike the Name ‘Thiên’ for Boys and ‘Tiên’ for Girls?

The birth of a baby brings joy, happiness, and grand hopes for parents. As soon as a child is born, the most concerned thing for parents is what to name their child. A name will follow the child for life and affect their destiny.

Do you know why the ancient taboo for boys’ names is the word ‘Thiên’ and for girls, it’s ‘Tiên’?

In the past, when naming a child, adults would consult dictionaries and poetry to find a meaningful name or borrow the names of influential characters. However, there was one taboo: boys’ names should not contain the word “Thiên,” and girls’ names should not have the word “Tiên.”

This is actually a way of avoiding naming taboos from ancient times. For example, the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty in China was named Li Yuan, and coincidentally, there was also a sword named Long Yuan. To avoid the taboo of the character “Yuan,” it was changed to Long Quan. Moreover, there are many similar examples from ancient times.

The word “Thiên” means “Heavenly Son,” referring to the emperor. If a commoner uses this word in their name, it is considered a major taboo. Therefore, when naming a boy, the word “Thiên” must be avoided.

Ancient Chinese mythology and beliefs also played a role. “Tiên,” in ancient times, referred to immortals or fairy maidens. Thus, using the word “Tiên” in a girl’s name would be considered offensive to these divine beings and was therefore taboo.