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All over the world, 东 (东 , Tong
) is a widespread predominantly masculine, but very infrequently girly given name. The first name 东 is characteristic of Eastern Asia, particularly Macao, where it is a common unisex name, Hong Kong, where it is quite a common gender-neutral name, and China, where it is quite a common principally masculine, but scarcely female name. Measured by absolute frequency, this name is the most popular in China, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Likewise, 东 is the last name as well as the forename.
东 is also a name for the fictitious and mythical characters: Li Zhong , the Water Margin character; Jiang Zhong , the Water Margin character; Bao Zhong , the fictional human in "The Romance of Three Kingdoms", Romance of the Three Kingdoms; Jing Zhong , the Jin Ping Mei character and Tong , the operatic character in the opera Der Kreidekreis by Alexander von Zemlinsky; Marriage broker.