Names by country
Chinese names for characters
Popular Chinese first names by birth decade, common and regional surnames, pronunciation, and the naming rules writers trip over.
How Chinese names work
There are only a few hundred common surnames, so names like Wang Wei are shared by hundreds of thousands. Given names carry meaning and era: Jianguo (build the nation) marks the 1950s, Hongwei (red guard) the Cultural Revolution. Many Chinese people also adopt an English name for work or study.
Name order. Family name first: Zhang Wei. English-language media keep this order for people in China; many Chinese living abroad flip it to Wei Zhang. Pick one and stay consistent.
Middle names. No middle names. A two-syllable given name (Xiuying) is one name, not a first and middle name.
First names by birth decade
Names drift in and out of fashion. Pick from the decade your character was born, not the year your story is set.
Born before 1950
Girls
- Xiuying shyoh-YING
- Guiying gway-YING
- Shuzhen shoo-JUN
- Yulan yoo-LAHN
- Guilan gway-LAHN
- Fengying fung-YING
- Xiulan shyoh-LAHN
- Shulan shoo-LAHN
Boys
- Fugui foo-GWAY
- Deming duh-MING
- Zhiqiang jr-CHYAHNG
- Guoqiang gwaw-CHYAHNG
- Baolin bow-LIN
- Shuren shoo-RUN
- Yongfu yoong-FOO
- Wenhua wun-HWAH
Born 1950–64
Girls
- Guifang gway-FAHNG
- Lihua lee-HWAH
- Xiuzhen shyoh-JUN
- Shuhua shoo-HWAH
- Yuzhen yoo-JUN
- Meiying may-YING
- Guihua gway-HWAH
- Aihua eye-HWAH
Boys
- Jianguo jyen-GWAW
- Jianhua jyen-HWAH
- Guoqing gwaw-CHING
- Jianjun jyen-JWIN
- Weiguo way-GWAW
- Zhiqiang
- Jianping jyen-PING
- Aiguo eye-GWAW
Born 1965–79
Girls
- Hong HOONG
- Li LEE
- Yan YEN
- Ping PING
- Juan JWEN
- Hua HWAH
- Xia SHYAH
- Min MIN
Boys
- Weidong way-DOONG
- Hongwei hoong-WAY
- Yong YOONG
- Jun JWIN
- Wei WAY
- Gang GAHNG
- Qiang CHYAHNG
- Tao TOW
Born 1980–94
Girls
- Jing JING
- Li
- Ting TING
- Yan
- Na NAH
- Lina lee-NAH
- Xue SHWEH
- Dan DAHN
Boys
- Wei
- Hao HOW
- Lei LAY
- Peng PUNG
- Jie JYEH
- Tao
- Chao CHOW
- Bo BWAW
Born 1995–2009
Girls
- Xinyi shin-YEE
- Yuxin yoo-SHIN
- Siyu sz-YOO
- Jiaxin jyah-SHIN
- Yutong yoo-TOONG
- Mengyao mung-YOW
- Yuqi yoo-CHEE
- Jiaqi jyah-CHEE
Boys
- Haoran how-RAHN
- Yuxuan yoo-SHWEN
- Zihao dz-HOW
- Jiahao jyah-HOW
- Junjie jwin-JYEH
- Tianyu tyen-YOO
- Yuhang yoo-HAHNG
- Haoyu how-YOO
Born 2010 onward
Girls
- Yinuo ee-NWAW
- Zixuan
- Xinyi
- Yutong
- Ruoxi
- Yixuan ee-SHWEN
- Zihan dz-HAHN
- Yuxi yoo-SHEE
Boys
- Yichen ee-CHUN
- Haoyu
- Zimo dz-MWAW
- Yuxuan
- Muchen moo-CHUN
- Ruize rway-DZUH
- Zixuan dz-SHWEN
- Yize ee-DZUH
Common Chinese surnames
- Wang WAHNG
- Li LEE
- Zhang JAHNG
- Liu LYOH
- Chen CHUN
- Yang YAHNG
- Huang HWAHNG
- Zhao JOW
- Wu WOO
- Zhou JOH
- Xu SHOO
- Sun SWUN
- Ma MAH
- Zhu JOO
- Hu HOO
- Guo GWAW
- He HUH
- Lin LIN
- Gao GOW
- Luo LWAW
- Zheng JUNG
- Liang LYAHNG
- Xie SHYEH
- Song SOONG
Regional names
Where a character comes from inside China changes their surname, and sometimes their first name.
Hong Kong (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanisation (Chan, Wong, Cheung) looks nothing like Mandarin pinyin (Chen, Wang, Zhang) for the same characters.
Surnames: Chan, Wong, Lee, Cheung, Lau, Ng, Ho, Leung, Lam, Tsang
Taiwan
Taiwanese passports use older Wade-Giles-style spellings (Hsieh, Tsai, Chang) rather than mainland pinyin.
Surnames: Chen, Lin, Huang, Chang, Li, Wang, Wu, Liu, Tsai, Yang
Questions
What are common Chinese surnames?
Some of the most common Chinese surnames are Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu, Chen, Yang. Regional surnames differ, so check the regional lists before choosing one for a character from a particular area.
How do Chinese names work?
There are only a few hundred common surnames, so names like Wang Wei are shared by hundreds of thousands. Given names carry meaning and era: Jianguo (build the nation) marks the 1950s, Hongwei (red guard) the Cultural Revolution. Many Chinese people also adopt an English name for work or study. Family name first: Zhang Wei. English-language media keep this order for people in China; many Chinese living abroad flip it to Wei Zhang. Pick one and stay consistent. No middle names. A two-syllable given name (Xiuying) is one name, not a first and middle name.
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