The Tibetan people have the given name but not the family name. The name often has two words or four words. Most of them originate from the Buddhism works. So many Tibetan people have the same names. In order to the tell the difference, Tibetan often add the old or the young, the character of the person, the birth place, the residence or his career title before their names.

When a baby is born, the parents ask the lama to name the baby. Most of the names are given by the lama, which come from the Buddhism scipture, including some words symbolizing happiness or luck, for example, Tashi Phentso, Jime Tsering,etc.