Chinese Name Generator
Chinese names in the correct family-name-first order, built from real Mandarin characters and shown in pinyin with the meaning each one carries.
364,297 combinations
Male, female and neutral chinese names, each with a matching chinese last name and the meaning of every element shown.
- Zhang Baoqian
Bao treasure + qian modest
Zhang to stretch
- Zhu Yanying
Yan swallow + ying lustrous
Zhu vermilion
- Ye Huiyue
Hui radiance + yue moon
Ye leaf
- Wang Lizhen
Li strength + zhen rouse
Wang king
- Jiang Yucai
Yu jade + cai colour
Jiang river
- Li Ziying
Zi purple + ying lustrous
Li plum tree
- Li Feixing
Fei soaring + xing star
Li plum tree
- Guo Qiuzhi
Qiu autumn + zhi angelica
Guo city wall
- Shi Huacheng
Hua splendid + cheng accomplish
Shi stone
- Wang Chengjian
Cheng accomplish + jian establish
Wang king
- Li Zhuting
Zhu pearl + ting comely
Li plum tree
- Gao Huale
Hua splendid + le joy
Gao tall
- Jin Shuhai
Shu tree + hai sea
Jin gold
- Li Ruijing
Rui flower bud + jing quiet
Li plum tree
- Qian Ningbo
Ning tranquil + bo learned
Qian coin
- Lin Wenbo
Wen writing + bo learned
Lin woods
- Xia Fangdie
Fang fragrant + die butterfly
Xia summer
- Bai Zhousen
Zhou boat + sen forest
Bai white
- Yang Hefei
He harmony + fei soaring
Yang poplar
- Yang Cairui
Cai colour + rui flower bud
Yang poplar
- Xia Shuyun
Shu tree + yun cloud
Xia summer
- Tian Renyi
Ren benevolence + yi righteous
Tian field
- Shi Lecai
Le joy + cai colour
Shi stone
- Bai Kangyuan
Kang healthy + yuan origin
Bai white
Need a name that means something in particular? Build one from its meaning.
How Chinese names are built
¶A Chinese name puts the family name first and the given name second: in Wang Wei, Wang is the surname and Wei the given name. The given name is one or two characters, and every character is an ordinary word with an ordinary meaning. Wei is great, ming is bright, li is beautiful, jun is army, hua is splendid, xin is heart. Parents choose those words deliberately, which is why a Chinese name can be read as well as pronounced.
Two-character given names are the common shape, and the pair is read as a phrase. Wei plus ming gives Weiming, great and bright; jian plus guo gives Jianguo, build the country, a name that dates a man to the 1950s as clearly as a birth certificate would. Many families also fix one character for a whole generation, so brothers and cousins share a syllable and the second character is the one that varies.
Surnames are a short, ancient list. About a hundred names cover most of the population, which is why Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu and Chen alone account for hundreds of millions of people. They are single characters and they are not descriptive of the bearer: Wang is king, Li is plum, Lin is forest, Ma is horse, Yang is poplar. Many of the rest are the names of ancient states and fiefs, so Zhao, Wu, Zhou and Zheng cannot honestly be translated at all, and this generator offers only the surnames whose character carries a plain meaning. Because the surname is fixed, short and always first, the expressive work all falls to the given name.
More chinese names
Male chinese names
- Jiang Xuesen learning forest
- Lu Lijian strength establish
- Jiang Yuankang origin healthy
- Shi Shushan tree mountain
- Lu Baoli treasure strength
- Fang Yunyao cloud shine
- Yang Pingchao level surpass
- Jiang Junjin army gold
- Guo Mingyan bright rock
- Lu Chengfu accomplish fortune
- Lu Xuesen learning forest
- Guo Pinggang level firm
- Huang Guoxiang country auspicious
- Zhu Haojian vast establish
- Fang Huiheng radiance constant
- Guo Chenshan morning mountain
- Shi Jiaxue excellent learning
- Xia Bosong learned pine
Female chinese names
- Xia Zhirong angelica hibiscus
- Shi Suting unadorned comely
- Mao Xinzhu joyful pearl
- Jiang Qingxin clear sky joyful
- Qian Jingjuan quiet graceful
- Tian Biqing jade green clear sky
- Ma Shufei virtuous lush
- Wang Lingsu jade chime unadorned
- Li Juncui noble emerald
- Xia Lingzi jade chime purple
- Zhu Jinlin brocade fine jade
- Zhu Yulu jade dew
- Chen Chunyuan springtime fair lady
- Guo Yunshan charm coral
- Zhang Libi beautiful jade green
- Yang Ningrui tranquil flower bud
- Guo Rongle hibiscus joy
- Tian Yurui jade flower bud
Neutral chinese names
- Guo Yueyan moon wild goose
- Tian Haoqiu vast autumn
- Li Longhua dragon splendid
- Wang Dongyan east wild goose
- Guo Yuanhui origin radiance
- Bai Zeming lake bright
- Shi Senjing forest quiet
- Ye Yinwen sound writing
- Mao Kaiyu triumphant jade
- Tian Xingjin star gold
- Fang Yunfeng cloud wind
- Ma Boyi learned righteous
- Gao Longxiang dragon auspicious
- Tian Yinchuan sound river
- Wang Anzhou peace boat
- Zhu Pingqiu level autumn
- Zhu Zhichuan ambition river
- Gao Quanying spring water lustrous
Questions
What are common Chinese surnames?
Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu, Chen, Yang, Huang, Zhao, Wu and Zhou head every list, and the first five cover a striking share of the population. Each is a single character with a plain meaning: Wang is king, Li is plum, Lin is forest, Ma is horse, Yang is poplar, Shi is stone. The surname is written and spoken first, before the given name.
Is the family name first in Chinese?
Yes. Chinese order is surname then given name, so the basketball player known in English as Yao Ming has the family name Yao. English-language sources sometimes flip the order to match Western habit, which is where the confusion comes from. This generator prints the family name first, in front of the given name, the way a Chinese name is actually written.
Are Chinese given names male or female?
Most characters lean one way without being fixed. Strength, ambition and martial words such as wei, jun, gang and yong read as masculine; flowers, jade, gentleness and light read as feminine, so li, mei, xue and juan are usually women's names. A large middle ground of nature and virtue characters, including ming, an, yun and jing, is used for anyone.
What do Chinese names mean?
Each character means something on its own and the pair is read together. Xiaolong is little dragon, Meiling is beautiful jade chime, Jianguo is build the country. There is no separate stock of name-words as there is in English: the same characters appear in ordinary sentences, which is why a Chinese speaker hears the meaning of a name immediately.
How do I choose a Chinese name for a character?
Roll for a random pair if you want a starting point, then decide what the name should say and keep the character that says it, then add a second character that reads well after it. Avoid stacking two characters with the same tone or the same initial. Read the whole thing aloud with the surname in front, since the surname is spoken first and that three-syllable string is what people will hear.