first and last

     In most of the "West"--the United States, Europe, and South America--when we say or write our names, we put our given name first, and then our family name or surname. Sometimes we are asked for our last name first, as this is the way lists of names are usually alphabetized. When a name is written that way, a comma ( , ) is placed after the last name so that we know the names are listed last-name first ( this matters because occasionally a surname is the same as a given name).  For example--
John Smith  would be written--
Smith, John  when the last name is the first one written or typed.
   This can be confusing when Oriental names are added to a list, because Oriental people often put their family name first, and then their given name.  Chang Ho is Mr. Chang, for example, whose friends call him Ho.  When we see an Oriental name on a list of names, we are not always sure which name is the surname or family name, and which the first or given name.  We know that Oriental names may be written last-name-first, but so do other people, who may have already corrected for this when making up a list of names--by changing the order of the names to read the same way that Western names do. Unless you already know which name is a given name, and which a surname, you may need to ask. The same thing may happen when our names appear in a list of mainly Oriental names, read by an Oriental person--who may have to ask which name is which.