Chinese Names

In Chinese culture, name plays an important role in Chinese people's life. Parents have a great responsibility to choose a good name for their baby. Chinese parents believe good names will bring good luck and fortune to their child.
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· Chinese Names: Surname + Given Name
· Common Chinese Boy/Girl Names and Their Meanings
· Funny Chinese Names
· How to Choose Your Chinese Name
Chinese Names: Surname + Given Name
Chinese names consist of a family name and a given name. The family name comes first followed by a given name. Most family names are just one Chinese character. A few have two characters. Most given names have two characters, some have one, and very occasionally three are used.
Top 10 Most Common Chinese Surnames
Chinese "surnames" (family name) come first when written, opposite to the Western name order. There are about 2,000 Chinese surnames in use today, but about half of all Han Chinese people share the same 19 surnames!
The most common surnames are Wang and Li (each with about 7% of China's population, compared to about 0.8% for Smith, the USA's most common surname). The next 8 in the top 10 most common Chinese surnames are: Zhang, Liu, Chen, Yang, Huang, Zhao, Wu, and Zhou.
Surname
Population
Percentage
李 (Lǐ)
95,300,000
7.94％
王 (Wáng)
88,900,000
7.41％
张 (Zhāng)
84,800,000
7.07％
刘 (Liú)
64,600,000
5.38％
陈 (Chén)
54,400,000
4.53％
杨 (Yáng)
37,000,000
3.08％
赵 (Zhào)
27,500,000
2.29％
黄 (Huáng)
26,800,000
2.23％
周 (Zhōu)
25,400,000
2.12％
吴 (Wú)
24,600,000
2.05％
Changing Your Name After Marriage? In China, women don't change their surnames when they get married. And nowadays, kids' surnames can be the same as their mother's or father's (or they could take both, like a double-barreled surname). Traditionally, Chinese children always take their father's family name.
Chinese Given Names
Almost all Chinese given names are made up of one, two, or three Chinese characters, which are written after the surnames. Two-character given names are by far the most popular for most Chinese.
Very few people have three characters for their given name. Some of these people have their mother's family name as the first character of their given names. For example, Daming whose family name is Li is called Lidaming. Chinese given names have many taboos. One of them is using the name of old relatives or just copying the name of a famous person or celebrity. Sons mustn't have the same names as their fathers.
Chinese Generation Names
A Chinese generation name is one of the characters in a standard two-character Chinese given name, which is shared by the same generation, such as cousins or siblings. The character used can be the first or second one.
In a big traditional Chinese family, you will see many young boys or girls sharing the same generation character in their given names. Sometimes the boys will have one generation name and the girls another.
For example, 李祖阳 and 李祖丽 share the same character '祖'.
Common Chinese Names and Their Meanings
Given names of a certain year often commemorate some important event. Such as Jianguo ('Establish County') was used by many babies born during the year that Modern China was founded (1949). Most Chinese given names have meanings of 'happiness', 'beauty', 'fortune', or 'good wishes.
Popular Chinese Female/Girl Names
Most traditional Chinese female names are related to 'beauty', 'happiness', 'flowers', or 'jade'. Here are some top female names:
· 1. Ai 爱 – Love
· 2. Fang 芳 – Fragrance
· 3. Jing 静 – calm/quiet
· 4. Li 丽– pretty
· 5. Min 敏– nimble/clever
· 6. Yan 燕– swallow
· 7. Xiu 秀–elegant/graceful
· 8. Ya 雅– elegant
· 9. Hua 花–flower
· 10. Fen 芬–scent
· 11. Xiang 香– fragrance
· 12. Chun 春–spring
· 13. Mei 美 –beauty
Top 10 Most Popular Chinese Female/Girl Names
According to the surveys of the Ministry of Public Security of China, the top 10 most popular Chinese girl's names right now are the following:
· 1. 一诺 (Yī nuò) – one promise
· 2. 依诺 (Yī nuò) – follow promise
· 3. 欣怡 (Xīn yí)– happy/quiet
· 4. 梓涵 (Zǐ hán)– catalpa tree mellow
· 5. 语桐 (Yǔ tóng)– speak Firmiana Simplex tree
· 6. 欣妍 (Xīn yán)– vitality/beauty
· 7. 可欣 (Kě xīn)–merit admiration
· 8. 语汐 (Yǔ xī)– speak night tide
· 9. 雨桐 (Yǔ tóng)–rain Firmiana Simplex tree
· 10. 梦瑶 (Mèng yáo)–dream/jade
30 More Chinese Baby Girl Names to Inspire You
· 1. 婵娟 (chán juān) – the moon
· 2. 春华 (chūn huá) – spring grace
· 3. 冬梅 (dōng méi)– winter plums
· 4. 慧颖 (huì yǐng)– clever beauty
· 5. 慧芬 (huì fēn)– wise scent
· 6. 佳丽 (jiā lì)– good and beautiful
· 7. 佳怡(jiā yí)–auspicious
· 8. 佳慧 (jiā huì)– good smart
· 9. 兰芬 (lán fēn)–scent of an orchid
· 11. 丽华 (lì huá)–beautiful elegant
· 12. 丽梅 (lì méi)–beautiful plum blossom
· 13. 丽娜 (lì nà)–beautiful/graceful
· 14. 美莲 (měi lián)–beautiful lotus
· 15. 明霞 (míng xiá)–bright glow
· 16. 明珠 (míng zhū)–bright pearl
· 17. 巧慧 (qiǎo huì)–Smart wise
· 18. 小丹 (xiǎo dān)–little dawn
· 19. 小慧 (xiǎo huì)–little wisdom
· 20. 玉明 (yù míng)–jade brightness
· 21. 诗云 (shī yún)–poem cloud
· 22. 美琪 (měi qí)–beautiful jade
· 23. 艺桐 (yì tóng)–art firmiana simplex
· 24. 若瑄 (ruò xuān)–tawny day-lily
· 25. 欣悦 (xīn yuè)–joyful
· 26. 妍雅 (yán yǎ)–beauty grace
· 27. 乐琪 (lè qí)–music jade
· 28. 思语 (sī yǔ)–think and speak
· 29. 晴怡 (qíng yí)–sunny joy
· 30. 怡然 (yí rán)–joy and bright
Popular Chinese Male/Boy Names
Traditional Chinese boys' names are typically related to 'strength', 'greatness', 'happiness', 'prosperity', and 'successes. In Chinese culture, males are considered stronger than females. Popular Chinese characters for boys' names include：
· 1. 强(qiáng) – strength
· 2. 国(guó) – country
· 3. 安(ān) – security
· 4. 刚(gāng) – strong
· 5. 博(bó) – abundant
· 6. 文(wén) – literate
· 7. 超(chāo) – surpass
· 8. 成(chéng) – success
· 9. 豪(háo) – prosperous
· 10. 明(míng) – Bright
· 11. 伟(wěi) – greatness
· 12. 达(dá) – attainment
· 13. 德(dé) – virtue
· 13. 福(fú) – luck
· 14. 富(fù) – wealth
the top 10 most popular Chinese boy's names right now are the following:
· 1. 奕辰 (Yìchén) – grand sun, moon
· 2. 宇轩