Nuance between 氏名 and 姓名


On the [Goo thesaurus
page](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/thsrs/5365/meaning/m0u/), it says:

> 通常は「氏名」が使われるが、名前のつけ方そのものを問題にする場合は、「姓名」を使う。

I'm not really sure what 名前のつけ方 is referring to here. When exactly should one
use 姓名 over 氏名?




The representative phrase that contains 姓名 is
[姓名判断](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A7%93%E5%90%8D%E5%88%A4%E6%96%AD),
which is based on a superstition that the fate of a person is determined by
the number of strokes of each kanji in their name. This is surely related to
名前のつけ方 or _how to name [a child]_. This is a fixed phrase, and you cannot
replace 姓名 to 氏名 here.

Aside from this, 姓名 may be used in stiff and formal contexts where one wants
to say "the surname AND the given name, not only just the surname" explicitly.
For example, you may see 利用者の姓名を記録すること in a formal documentation. Technically
氏名 should be enough, but it sounds less explicit.




The representative phrase that contains 姓名 is
[姓名判断](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A7%93%E5%90%8D%E5%88%A4%E6%96%AD),
which is based on a superstition that the fate of a person is determined by
the number of strokes of each kanji in their name. This is surely related to
名前のつけ方 or _how to name [a child]_. This is a fixed phrase, and you cannot
replace 姓名 to 氏名 here.

Aside from this, 姓名 may be used in stiff and formal contexts where one wants
to say "the surname AND the given name, not only just the surname" explicitly.
For example, you may see 利用者の姓名を記録すること in a formal documentation. Technically
氏名 should be enough, but it sounds less explicit.

