The "Gods" are among us, and they live in China. Scattered throughout the country are people with the rare surname Shen, the same Chinese character for "god" or "spirit," some of whom say it's a big name to live up to.

"I try to spread good karma. Otherwise I'm letting this name down," a woman surnamed Shen recently told the Straits Herald.

Now living in Xiamen, Fujian Province, Shen is a native of Hunan, where she said there are only two other families she knows of with the surname.

She explained the surname also has it's downside. People give looks of disbelief upon receiving her business card and often ask if it is her real name, Shen said.

Although there are no official numbers readily available, reports on the experiences of those with the name across the country sometimes appear in domestic media.

"If I run into a person surnamed Shen in Nanjing, we're most likely related," another woman surnamed Shen, 54, told the Yangzi Evening News in 2011.

Straits Herald