This is also a problem when it comes to foreign people online. Interactivity with site visitors is an important feature that most websites have. It is very common to fill out an online application or form, subscribe to some services, newsletters, etc.
When creating an online form for people from other countries to complete, it is important to remember that some names may need more space than standard English names: Spaniards generally have two last names; Chinese names are listed in a different order; Forms must be configured to allow Unicode characters, as some languages have accents, some use non-Roman scripts, and so on.
In some cultures it is inappropriate to address someone using their first name, unless invited to do so. This also applies to online communication, even if it is becoming more common in many languages to use the first name when addressing someone new.
I remember one time in high school my teacher got mad at me because I signed one of my papers using my first name followed by my last name. It was not very common at that time to have his name in this order and it did not matter if he was 10 or 50 years old. I think this was primarily one of the communist rules to lessen individual importance. This has now changed in Romania and everyone signs their name using the first name followed by the last name.
Back in my home country, I never called a person older than me just by first name, as this would have been rude. Even now, when I visit my family in Romania, I still call those older than me as Mister or Madame, followed by their first name if I know them very well, or the last name.
However, I have seen that this is no longer common. Things are changing and it is very common to address someone only by their first name. Websites dedicated to youth will welcome visitors using their first name, but official websites or those dedicated to all ages will use the first and last names together, or formal titles followed by the last name.
Spanish-speaking countries:
Most Spaniards (except Argentines) have two surnames; the first inherited from the father and the second from the mother.
One of my favorite writers is Gabriel García Márquez (full name: Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez).
His parents were Gabriel Eligio García and Luisa Santiaga Márquez Iguarán, so their two surnames are García and Márquez.
The first surname, the father’s last name, is commonly used when addressing someone. One last name will be used when speaking to a person and both last names will be used when writing to a person. Gabriel García Márquez would be called Señor Márquez (although I have read that friends call him Gabo …)
First names are appropriate among friends and young people. Therefore, if you have any messages intended for your visitors on your website in Spanish, you should leave more space for the last name and also address your visitors using their last names, not their first names.
Chinese:
A Chinese name begins with the surname followed by the first name. I usually call my Chinese coworker Deyu, but his wife and other Chinese I know call him Tang Deyu. Tang is her last name and Deyu is her first name.
It is rare for Chinese wives to take their husbands’ last names; instead, they will keep their maiden names. However, children will bear their father’s last name.
Chinese who work with Western companies often try to adapt to their Western clients and coworkers by adopting an easy-to-pronounce English name.
Chinese living in North America are used to being called by their first name. However, if your website is intended for the Chinese market, your application forms and thank you messages should take into account the Chinese naming order. “Hello there [family name] [given name]. Thanks for visiting our website. “It will be the correct reply message for a Chinese visitor.
Russian:
What makes Russian names different is that the middle name is derived from the father’s name.
Another of my favorite writers is Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. His parents were Mikhail and Maria Dostoevsky. The writer’s first name is Fyodor and his last name is Dostoevsky. His middle name is based on the root Mikhail, the name of his father.
The name is actually a transliteration of the real Russian name. Other versions of the names were Dostoyevsky, Dostoevsky, Dostojevskij, Dostoevski or Dostoevskii … If he had lived in these times, the authorities would have had a hard time with so many different transliterations.
Another well-known Russian writer is Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (known as Leo Tolstoy in the West). His wife’s name was Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya.
Russian women take their husbands’ names, but will add an “a” to the end of the surname. So, the surname of Tolstoy’s wife was Tolstaya.
Names, diminutives, and nicknames are used among friends. So be sure not to address your online visitors by name, unless you are invited to do so. And remember that the “a” at the end of the wife’s name is not a mistake …
Arabica:
An Arabic name consists of a main name, nickname, patrons (derived from the father’s name), occupation of the person, etc.
For example, (wikipedia.org):
Abu Karim Muhammad al-Jamil ibn Nidal ibn Abdulaziz al-Filistin
“‘abk kar + mi muHammadu-l-jam + lu-bnu niD