Some light shed to Wong Tung Family

[wongtung]

I was talking to one of my cousins who has now stated that our family name is Tung and my Grandfathers first name was Wong but my family starting taking Wong Tung as the surname.

In the early 1900's in Samoa, records were badly kept so it does not surprise me at all. He was from Canton so if any one can shed some like on my previous posts or if maybe someone knows of any Tungs, at least it is a start.

Delilah

[twoupman]

In Chinese, the convention for a complete name starts with the surname followed by the personal name(s). In your case the name Wong Tung means Wong is the surname and Tung is the personal name.

This name is a Cantonese transliteration and even though you now know Wong is the surname you still have a problem because there are two different surname characters with the same pronunciation and this cannot be resolved without knowing the Chinese character.

On the other hand, there are also Chinese surnames transliterated as Tung, however, they are not common surnames. So, in all probability your gf's surname was Wong. When you use Wong Tung as your surname you are in essence using his complete name and this does not follow proper Chinese practice but this is a common error encountered overseas. If you wish to learn more please visit my website: houseofchinn.com

[Henry]

Delilah,

The following is the first thread you started in this Forum seeking help:

siyigenealogy.proboards28.com/index.cgi?board=names&action=display&thread=745


My original suggestion still stands:

"If you can get a digital photo of your grandfather's gravestone - this would probably provide you with the Chinese characters for your grandfather's name - birth/death dates, ancestral village, county, and province in China. Then you would know your true Chinese surname and with your grandfather's name - the village chief of your ancestral village in China could be contacted and he/she can try to find out if you still have relatives still living in the village and if there are any copies of your family's genealogy book available for copying. "


Henry