Formal
Names

This is the child's real name or true name to be used in the outside world e.g school, work etc. if the child's infant name is considered too vulgar to be used outside. It is also considered improper to call a child by his infant name after he had grown up. Although such name will express his or her parents wishes and dreams for the child, in some cases, it is the child who chooses his or her formal name when he or she has reached an age to formalize his or her name. This, however, does not mean that the child is unfilial to his or her parents, it simply indicates that there are special reasons, such as the parents are dead, the parents are illiterate or that the parents would rather give the child the freedom to choose their own name.

Often the names would symbolize or highlight a person's special merits, be it physical or character such as strength and courage, the names may also be the parents' wishes for the child, such as success and loyal. Others just simply name their child after successful people, such as Zedong, the communist leader of China or Yue Fei, a loyalist of China.

Sometimes a ceremony, known as the adulthood ceremony was held to mark the occasion that the person began to use his formal name, however such ceremonies are not common in modern day, the "replacement" event now is what is normally known as the Formalizing Ceremony, where people declare their name to be put in their identity cards.

Sometimes a person does not change his name he reaches adulthood and uses the same name all his life, this is very common in modern day as people feel a name is just a name.