改名
gǎi míng · HSK 7
to change one's name
📛 改 = change/alter + 名 = name → change one's name
改 means to alter or revise (think 改革 reform, 修改 edit); 名 is name (as in 名字). Stack them and you literally get change-name. Common in contexts like legal name changes or rebranding.
改 — 己 (self) + 攴/攵 (action/strike)
改 is a compound of 己 'self' and 攵 (the action radical, originally a hand holding a stick). The image is of striking or applying force to oneself or one's situation, suggesting reform or correction. From this came the modern meaning 'to change, alter, correct'.
名 — evening 夕 + mouth 口
A compound ideograph: in the dark of evening (夕), one cannot recognize others by sight, so the mouth (口) calls out a name to identify oneself. The original sense of 'name' broadened to include reputation, fame, and a measure word for people.