沙啟善 - Shā Qĭshàn
My Chinese name, given to me by my first Chinese language teacher at the University of Toronto. If you research anything China related you most likely have a Chinese name that somehow-kinda-sorta sounds like either your first name, last name, or both (depending on the number of syllables).
In my case, 'Sarkissian' is three syllables long, which matches the standard three character Chinese name. The set of possible syllables in Mandarin is very small, and in practice there are only a few hundred distinct syllables, so it's tough getting a good match in pronunciation. The closest approximation in my case is shā-qĭ-shàn (pronounced roughly 'shaw-chee-shawn').
Surnames carry no meanings over from the character's other uses, and are best seen as proper names. My own surname is very peculiar and rare. The only famous figure in Chinese history with 沙 as a surname (so far as I know) is 沙悟凈 - Shā Wùjìng, a rather gnarly looking (and, coincidentally, bald) disciple of the Buddhist monk Xuánzàng's in the epic novel Journey to the West (written ca. 1590s).
Given names do, however, carry meaning. My given name is perhaps equally strange, but it has a nice, Confucian meaning to it.
啟 = revealing; enlightening
善 = goodness; benificence
The Zhongwen.com Chinese character of the moment:
