A name does not only express a person's individual characteristics,the expectations of his or her family, but also in part reflects certain socialrealities. Research on women's names thus may help to understand theexpected roles of both sexes as welt as the changing status of women in agiven society. The author collects names of more than 570 women fromthe Ch'in to the Three Kingdoms, and discusses them from threeapproaches: that of their relation to family, gender, and society. Through the Chou and Han dynasties, surnames became morecommon, and the earlier practice of hsi-hsing (a married woman'spersonal name followed by her natal family's surname) was graduallyreplaced by practices like ch 'eng-ming (calling by personal name),kuan-hsing-ch 'eng-shih " &. J (calling by shih following hersurname, such as "nee X"). as well as kuan-fu-hsing "&. (calling byher husband's surname followed by her own). Meanwhile, the rules ofseniority in women's names also changed. All these practices reflectedcontemporary social development and were preserved through laterperiods. Two-thirds of the women's names collected in this paper appear to have also been used by men. This fact shows that social norms ofmorality and behavior did not yet differ very strongly between men andwomen. While the inferiority of her status was still evident, meanings ofstrength and vigor were also affirmed as suitable for women. However,feminine characteristics were also on the rise, mainly stressing femalelooks, appearance and personality. Names that express a wish for wealth,longevity, and prosperity are shared by both sexes, but those referring tocertain political ambitions, such as ting-guo 定國 (stabilizing thecountry) or an-shih 安世 (pacifying the times) were exclusively given tomen. Furthermore, factors such as the greater importance of men than ofwomen, as well as a stress on certain female merits and virtues, areindicators of different gender roles.