Chinese couples pondering whose surname to give their child will soon have a third option that could provide a compromise: a combined last name.

The official Marriage Law stipulates that a child may have the surname of either its mother or father, and both options are common. However, a draft law by the Ministry of Public Security would allow parents to give their child a combined surname, meaning that parents with the family names of Zhou and Zhu, for example, would have four options in giving their child a surname: Zhou, Zhu, Zhouzhu or Zhuzhou.

The draft law has been distributed by the ministry to police departments across the country, to gather feedback. It follows the April release of a survey by the ministry which revealed that 100 surnames are shared by 85 percent of the Chinese population, with Wang being the most popular.

There are 93 million Wangs in China, 92 million Lis and 88 million Zhangs, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

If adopted, the draft law on combining surnames could vastly reduce name repetition, according to Guan Xihua, a household registration officer with the Beijing public security bureau, who said the common names cause a great deal of trouble in daily life.

If combined, the 1,600 popular surnames already in use could create 1.28 million new surnames, she said.

Though not exactly legal, giving children a combined surname is already becoming a popular practice among young, modern couples, said Du Ruofu, a researcher on Chinese surnames who retired from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Including the mother's surname would show gender equality, and the draft law would encourage the trend, Ruofu said.

Questions:

1. What is one practical benefit of the draft law to combine surnames?

2. Chinese children can legally be given what surname?

Answers:

1. Because so many people in China share the same surname, new combinations would help reduce confusion.

2. Either that of their mother or father. The new law would allow parents to combine their surnames.

About the broadcaster:

Matt Doran is an award-winning American newspaper journalist and an undergraduate student at Albion College. He is currently a polisher for China Daily Website and is on summer break from Beijing Foreign Studies University, where he will resume his study of Chinese in the fall.