So I have a Chinese name, a must officially when applying for a work visa. Mine was suggested to me by the manageress of the induction course I attended prior to settling in Shanghai for my 3 years stint.

苏杰

I actually quite like it, here is a bit more information about it. 

苏 (Sū) — this is the surname. It’s a classic Chinese family name, fairly common across China, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora. Historically, the Sū clan has roots in several regions, and the name appears in ancient texts and poetry. It carries connotations of revival or awakening — the character is also associated with plants coming back to life after winter.

杰 (Jié) — the given name. This character means outstanding, heroic, or exceptionally talented. It’s often chosen to express the wish that the person will be remarkable or distinguished. A closely related character, 傑, is the traditional form of the same word.

Together, 苏杰 reads as a confident, aspirational name — essentially “the outstanding/brilliant one of the Sū family.” It has a clean, two-syllable rhythm that sounds strong and direct in Mandarin.

A few other notes:

• It’s a masculine name by convention, though Chinese names aren’t grammatically gendered — it’s more about cultural association.

• The pinyin romanisation would be Sū Jié, with the surname first (as is standard in Chinese).

• Your French surname Sauvaget and 苏 (Sū) actually share a nice phonetic echo — which may well be why 苏 was chosen as the Chinese equivalent.

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