When Bian He (卞和) is read as a typical Chinese name, "Biàn" (, lit. "law; rule; impetuous") is the surname (e.g., Bian Lan) and "Hé" (, "harmonious; agreeable; comfortable") is the given name. However, "He" is also an uncommon surname (e.g., He Qia) and early texts refer to Bian He as both "Bianshi" (卞氏, "Mr. Bian") and "Heshi" (和氏, "Mr. He"), with the word shì (氏, "clan; family; suffix after surnames Mr., Mrs., or Ms."). Most scholars translate "Heshi" as "Mr. He" with suffixed "shi", some as "Master He", and a few literally interpret "shi" and translate "Heshi" as "He Clan" or "He family". Some alternate names for Mr. He are "Heshi" (龢氏, with the ancient variant character "Hé"), "Heshi" (咼氏, with the unique variant "Guō" () only pronounced "He" in this name), and "Jing He" (荊和, "He from Jingzhou", an ancient name for Chu).