此文主旨在探明周敦頤之所以命名濂溪的源由及意涵，並針對傳統自製命名及取名故里兩種說法進行考察。除分析兩種爭議形成的過程，亦論及二說在後世引發的影響。此文發現朱熹推論取名故里是不忘其本的表現，乃融入對自己父親的思念，帶有個人情感意圖，這種心理推測並不能直接套用到周敦頤身上。另外，黃庭堅提出的自製取名說，則蘊涵周敦頤兩個兒子對父親的思念，並表達周敦頤以濂字標榜廉節的新義。此文又藉由唐寫本《玉篇》殘卷的記載，推導濂字非周敦頤新創。總合這兩種結果來看，濂溪應為周敦頤故里舊溪之名，但周敦頤取用之後卻賦予新義，創造出具有以廉德自我標榜的價值意涵。此文在所論議題外，亦提供學界少有注意到的周敦頤二子相關資料，分析出二子對周敦頤聲譽傳播之貢獻。另外，也探討文人對周敦頤道州故里所開發出來的各種景點傳說，對於周敦頤的形象及爭議問題亦進行釐清，相關成果均可作為提供學界研究周敦頤對後世影響之參考資料。

This article aims to explore the origin of the name Lianxi from Zhou Dun-Yi and investigate the two theories whether the name was made by himself or from the name of his hometown. In addition to analyzing the naming controversies, this article also discusses the impact on future generations. The research results show that Zhu Xi’s way of adopting the notion of not forgetting the origins of his ancestors does not apply to Zhou Dun-Yi’s case. In addition, Huang Ting-Jian's statement includes the thoughts of Zhou Dun-Yi's two sons for their father, and expresses Zhou Dun-Yi's integrity. According to the literature of the Tang dynasty, this article deduces that Zhou Dun-Yi did not create new words so that the name of Lianxi was from hometown. In sum, it can be concluded that Lianxi is a small stream in Zhou’s hometown, and Zhou Dun-Yi gave new meaning to it. In addition to the research results, this article also provides references in the academic circles about Zhou Dun- Yi's two sons, and analyzes his sons' efforts to spread Zhou Dun-Yi's reputation, which is the direction that future study could furthermore explore into.