Chinese Names 🤩 A Simple and Easy Guide to Understanding Names in China

95 comments

1. […] 67. Chinese civilisation can be traced back 40 centuries. 68. More than 30 million people live in caves in China, in Shaanxi province. 69. White is the colour of mourning and thus is always worn at funerals as a symbol of death. 70. Red is always worn at weddings a symbol of happiness. 71. The pronunciation of four (四 sì) is similar to the pronunciation of death (死 sǐ). For this reason, building skip level 4 all together when numbering floors. 72. 85% of the population share the same 100 last names. […]

2. […] (班) is, in this case, actually a surname. Master Lŭ Bān was an expert craftsman in ancient […]

3. […] (班) is, in this case, actually a surname. Master Lŭ Bān was an expert craftsman in ancient […]

4. […] Believe it or if you’ve ever been to China you’ve seen Mr Li! That’s because 85% of the population share the same 100 last names and Li (李) is one of those Chinese names. […]

5. […] 72. 85% of the population share the same 100 last names. […]

6. […] YOU KNOW – Kim has two Chinese names, both rather amusing. 金大妈 jīn dàmā which translates to Aunty Gold (presumably relating to […]

7. […] porque 85% da população compartilham os mesmos 100 sobrenomes, e Li (李) é um desses nomes chineses. É o equivalente a ser um Silva no […]

8. […] Máo can also be a Chinese surname – like Chairman […]

9. […] Chinese name is Hua Mulan.Hua is a Chinese word for flower and Mulan means […]

10. […] Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba Group and Taobao. […]

11. […] put together this quick guide to teach you the Chinese names for Chinese plants, what they symbolise and any particular cultural connotations they […]

12. Chinese names are really fascinating, they also work similar to Koreans. Kim, Lee and Park are the most common surnames in Korea.

    1. Absolutely, although I can’t say we are expert Korean speakers there are certainly a number of similarities with how the names are displayed. I think Kim, Lee and Park is similar to Li, Zhang and Wang in Chinese – they are dominant surnames in the language.

    2. How do set my Chinese name?

       1. Why not ask a Chinese friend to help you with one?

13. I want a Chinese name!!

    1. Finn, you can get one in seconds! Did you see the Chinese Name Generator in the article?

       If not check it out 👉 https://ltl-school.com/chinese-name-generator/

       Hope it helps 🙂

14. Are any Chinese names like, 5/6 characters?

    1. No Jemma Chinese names are either 2 or 3 characters in virtually all cases.

       I’m sure there are some exceptions out there, but we’ve never seen otherwise!

       LTL

       1. Pls can I send a card to you then you mentioned the name for me

          1. Feel free

       2. can you give me a sample name of Fuel? its regard for business matter. thank you

          1. Sorry Namhi, I don’t quite understand your question?

15. My Chinese name is 马云 (horse cloud) 😂

    1. Excellent Martin, the Ma is from your name also! Good work

16. Chinese names blow my mind so much thought behind them compared to the west where it’s just “follow the trends” or celeb choices!

    1. Indeed, there’s a real art behind picking the right one. Very unique

17. 矮林 is my Chinese name 🙂

    1. 👏

18. […] ltl-shanghai […]

19. […] Chinese name for gunpowder literally translates to “fire […]

20. I finally got my name in Chinese! Thanks LTL!

    1. Always happy to help! 🙂
       – Marine

21. Thank you! My Chinese professor gives us names based on how our own names are pronounced. Funny enough, he thought I was a girl during our first class, so after I told him, he renamed me 郝国男 to remind himself, haha!

    1. Haha Gunnar, that is a very funny story 😂.

       The LTL Team

    2. Hello! My name is Lauro and I am a 50-year-old professor from Brazil. Me and my family will relocate to Beijing for a 2-year period (maybe more), so we need to choose our Chinese names! Could you kindly help us?

       Lauro (50), male, teacher, loves literature, History and music;
       Gabriela (37), female, lawyer, strong and resilient; loves doramas and travelling;
       Miguel (9), male, strong and active, loves sports;
       Mariah (1), female, our little baby, smiling, calm and loving.

       Our surname is Meller, which means “a mill owner”. Because it is a variation of Miller, I thought Mi would be a Good Chinese surname for us (meaning “rice”), but I am not sure it is a good choice.

       Many thanks in advance! Xié xié

       1. 米 is actually a semi-common surname and would be a great choice for your family. Well done on breaking it down and finding the name yourself 🙂

22. Hey, been trying to deciding on a chinese name for AGES, wondering what you think of 周 海霞?

    Its really hard to know what kind of flow it has

    1. Hi Roob,

       Yes it can be so hard to decide on a Chinese name!! But 周 海霞 is a great name, it is very 很好听 so we think it’s a great choice 😊.

       Thanks,
       The LTL Team

23. 高富帅 was the name given to me years ago. I didn’t realize what it meant until I actually went to China to study 😂😂

    1. We’ve all been there Frank!

       1. My name is Lana and I have not found a Chinese name close to mine

          1. In these situations it’d be great to ask a Chinese friend who knows you well. Names can often be based on personality.

24. My chinese name is 陆慈榕. Is it good or bad?？

    1. Hi Lea,

       This is a great Chinese name! 慈 means kind and 榕 is a big tree, which in a name refers to growing up strong and quick.

       The LTL Team

25. Is 吳嘉芸 a good female name?

    1. Hi CJ,

       The character 嘉 means good and 芸 is a good character for a female name. Really great choice!

       The LTL Team

26. Hi what do you think of 马雅 or 马雅惠 as a girl’s name? （which one do you prefer?) Is there any weird/funny alternative meaning to these characters being used together?

    1. Hi Grace, thanks for your comment

       We prefer 马雅惠。 马雅 sounds like 妈呀 which in Chinese means “oh my god” 😂

       Hope this helps

       LTL

       1. Oh wow! Thanks for that. What about 马惠 over 马雅惠 as a 2-syllable alternative

          1. No problem!

             How about 马慧 as this sounds like wisdom in Chinese? Something a little different but great connotations in Mandarin.

             LTL

    2. what do you think of 吴宵晖?

27. hi, is there such a surname called Bibi 比比? If yes, what exactly does it mean?
    I’m still puzzled by this name 比比东 BiBi Dong

    1. Hi Anastasia, thanks for your comment

       比比东 comes from a famous novel, TV show and animation called 斗罗大陆.

       It’s just a nick name and we don’t have a surname like that in Chinese.

       Hope this helps.

       1. Hi I want to name my son Qiao which means handsome but I Don’t know if it’s a surname and its chinese character

    2. Thanks for the excellent article! What do you think do the name 王海灵? I wanted something that felt gender neutral and specifically mentioned the ocean. Thank you!

       1. That’s a great choice of name 🤩 Well done if you chose it yourself!

28. Hi! what do you think of 輕珍 / 輕珠? do they sound and look good for a girl’s name? or how about using this qing 清珍 / 清珠? which one will be better?

    1. Hi Cynthia!

       珍珠 means pearl, so perhaps this may be maybe a better name for you? Or if you prefer both 清清 and 珠珠 also sound like really cool names!

       Thanks,
       The LTL Team

    2. HELLO DEAR

29. […] if you know the Chinese name for what you’re looking for, you can put this in the search […]

30. Thank you, this post really helps me creating a name for myself. Interesting that they put so much thought on creating names.

    Also, what do you think about these names: 俊爾德, 俊威儀, and 俊維翰? Are they sound OK for a young male adult? Is 俊 a legitimate surname or should I stick with 楚?

    I am afraid they are a bit outdated since I created them by taking characters from a passage in 詩經 🤣. Also, since its in classical Chinese I am not quite sure about how to combine the characters.

    Thanks once again 😁

    1. Hi Alden,

       Thank you so much for your comment. It is so impressive that you read 诗经 (詩經)! We suggest that you stick with the surname 楚，and 楚尔德 (楚爾德) is a very cool name. For instance Oscar Wilde is translated 奥斯卡·王尔德 in Chinese.

       Thanks,
       The LTL Team

31. Hi! Do you know if 信心 can be used as a girls name? Is 李信心 an acceptable name or should I use different characters? I really like the xinxin pronounciation so I would like to have that as my name.

    1. Hi Ella! The name 李信心 would sound a little unusual so we would instead recommend one of the following names: 李鑫 李欣 李馨, if you really like the sound of xinxin for all these names you can repeat the xin for example 李欣欣.

       Hope that helps,
       The LTL Team

32. Hello, I wanna know 遇熹 & 宋雾曦 are beautiful names or not. I chose 遇 as surname & 熹 as given name. Also in 宋 & 雾曦。But, I’m not sure then. If they aren’t good, please help me what to change suitably.

    I’m creating novel, so I need a perfect CP name tho. Thank you so much.

    1. They are all good to be honest Tara.

       We had a chat around the office and the general view was 遇熹 is amazing and the favourite, but all of them would fit just fine 🙂

33. […] you or a loved Traditional Chinese names you can here one has experienced Chinese culture, you know firsthand the pressure placed on new […]

34. […] Chinese Names | Understanding How Names in China Work […]

35. I am Mark, what’s my Chinese name

    1. Hi Mark, you can use the name generator on the page or visit https://ltl-school.com/chinese-name-generator/ for more details.

       Typically Mark is 马克

36. Ah every aspect of Chinese culture is so interesting to learn about, since the history has so much depth! I tried to keep my Chinese name as close to my English name meaning as possible. My family name relates to birch trees and my given name means joy / happiness. So, combining these, I came up with: 林怡然 (Lin Yi Ran), 林靜怡 (Lin Jing Yi) / 林靜熙 (Lin Jing Xi) / 林靜辉 (Lin Jing Hui). I added Jing because it speaks to my personality. Huān Yǒng also caught my eye. Do these options sound okay?

    1. That sounds perfect Sara, nicely done 🙂

37. Hi! I have given myself a Japanese name 恵(Megumi) as it’s meaning is similar to my Western name. I wanted to include 惠(Hui4) in my Chinese name somewhere. I was thinking about 惠姸 (Huìyán) or 贤惠 (Xiánhuì) or 惠良 (Huìliáng) or something along those lines.

    1. Those are great options Grace! Lovely work.

       惠 means kindness in Mandarin so that’s a great inclusion to your name.

38. Excellent article!

    1. Thanks Leo

39. Hi,
    my name is Tapio H., and about 10 years ago, I chose with locals in Beijing together following name 郝泰博 (Hǎo Taì Bǒ). I like the translation, and I thought it fits my name.
    However, always and where ever I went in China, this name made the people laugh and smile, and yet they always said, its a good name, when I asked why they are laughing.
    Therefore, I am unsure about the name, due to all the laughing about my name.
    What do you think, is it a good name?
    And now, I live in Taiwan, can I use it here?
    All the best, Tapio

    1. Hi Taipo, we don’t understand the laughing at all! As Chinese natives speakers we like this name a lot.

       郝泰博 hǎo tài bó – 郝 as a first name starts H which suit yours and 泰博 not only suits Tapio, but also means “well wishes” and “well being”

40. […] origins for the Chinese name of this sauce remain a bit of a mystery as it isn’t eaten with seafood, nor is it made from […]

41. My Chinese name is 邓思雅. Is this Chinese name beautiful for girl. What does it mean?

    1. Our team think it’s a really nice name. It means gives a feel of elegance which is perfect for female name 🙂

42. I want a Chinese girl name and I am interested in the Chinese language so I am starting to learn.

    1. Our Chinese speaking team recommend 梅岚岚.

       The surname 梅 (mei) sounds like your name May and 岚 is the name of a mountain 🙂

43. Hi i just got my korean name rohee which means she whose intuition will allow her to light up even the darkest unknown of universe.

    I really like the name and found that it will become (my fam surename)huang lu-xi in chinnese.

    But i dont know the hanzi version of luxi. Is this the correct character? 路凞 (1st character is road, 2nd character is bright, glorious)

    1. The characters for your name would be 露曦.

       Great choice by the way!

44. I’m curious about the use of two names to create a single name. Example: for a male, would “Min Jie” or “Jie Min” be accurate for meaning “a clever hero”? I want to be as accurate as I can be, but the web has shown a lot of different meanings for these two names

45. My Chinese name is
    Mah Li Fong
    What are the Chinese characters

46. It’s really nice to learn more about my culture! My chinese name is 嘉欣，it was picked by my grandparents apparently. I’m not too sure of the meaning but I know it means something along the lines of joy.

    I’m really amazed at the careful consideration on chinese names. I hope I can give my future children good chinese names too someday even if I’m not that good at chinese.

    1. Love to hear that! Yes Chinese names really have so much thought process, it makes the names incredibly meaningful. Your name is also really nice, your family chose well!

47. How do I write my pinyin name – Li Ping-Wei in Chinese characters, please.
    Thanks

    1. It will depend on the tones but it will likely be

       李评为

       lǐ píng wéi

48. […] LTL Language School says three of the most typical boys names are: […]

49. 我叫小灵

    1. Lovely name 🙂