Editing Courtesy name (section)

{{Short description|Name given to adults in East Asia}}
{{for|European nobility|courtesy title}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=March 2015}}<!-- More examples of female courtesy names are needed. (November 2018) -->
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = '''Courtesy name (''Zi'')'''
| pic = Chữ tự.png
| t = (表) 字
| p = (biǎo) zì
| w = (piao)-tzu
| kanji = 字
| hiragana = あざな
| revhep = azana
| hangul = 자
| hanja = 字
| rr = ja
| mr = cha
| qn = biểu tự <br> tên tự <br> tên chữ
| hide = no
| chunom = 𠸜字 <br> 𠸜𡨸
| chuhan = 表字
}}

A '''courtesy name''' ({{lang-zh|s=字|p=zì|l=character}}), also known as a '''style name''', is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name.<ref name="Wilkinson">{{cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Endymion Porter |title=Chinese History: A New Manual |date=2018 |publisher=Harvard University Asia Center |isbn=978-0998888309 |location=Cambridge, MA |pages=143–145}}</ref> This tradition is prevalent in the [[East Asian cultural sphere]], particularly in [[China]], [[Japan]], and [[Vietnam]].<ref>Ulrich Theobald. [http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Terms/titles.html Names of Persons and Titles of Rulers]</ref> Courtesy names are a marker of adulthood and were historically given to men at the age of 20, and sometimes to women upon marriage.

Unlike [[art name]]s, which are more akin to [[pseudonym]]s or [[pen name]]s, courtesy names served a formal and respectful purpose.<ref name="Wilkinson" /> In traditional Chinese society, using someone's given name in adulthood was considered disrespectful among peers, making courtesy names essential for formal communication and writing.

Courtesy names often reflect the meaning of the given name or use homophonic characters, and were typically disyllabic after the [[Qin dynasty]]. The practice also extended to other East Asian cultures, and was sometimes adopted by [[Mongols]] and [[Manchu people|Manchus]] during the [[Qing dynasty]]. The choice of a courtesy name was significant, intended to express moral integrity and respect within the cultural context.