23,813 surnames have been recorded throughout the history of China, of which 5,662 surnames are still in active use today, however, the top 100 are extremely common, makingup 85.9% of the 1.4billion population in China. In fact, 596.3 million Chinese people, or 42.9% of the population share the same 10 family names!
So what are the most common family names in Chinaright now?
The Ministry of Public Security of China surveys registered names and populations every year. According to the most recent report released in January 2022, these are the top 20 most common Chinese surnames:
- 王 (Wáng): 101.5 Million
- 李 (Lǐ): 100.9 Million
- 张(Zhāng): 95.4 Million
- 刘(Liú): 72.1 Million
- 陈 (Chén): 63.3 Million
- 杨 (Yáng): 46.2 Million
- 黄 (Huáng): 33.7 Million
- 赵(Zhào): 28.6 Million
- 吴(Wú): 27.8 Million
- 周 (Zhōu): 26.8 Million
- 徐(Xú): 20.2 Million
- 孙 (Sūn): 19.4 Million
- 马(Mǎ): 19.1 Million
- 朱(Zhū): 18.1 Million
- 胡 (Hú): 16.5 Million
- 郭(Guō): 15.8 Million
- 何(Hé): 14.8 Million
- 林(Lín): 14.2 Million
- 罗(Luó): 14.2 Million
- 高(Gāo): 14.1 Million
Compared with 2021, the ranking hasn’t changed much. With 101.5 million people sharing the surname, 王 (Wáng)remains the most common surname in China, followed by 李 (Lǐ), 张 (Zhāng), 刘 (Liú),and 陈 (Chén).The only change to the top 20 list is that 罗 (Luó) went up from 20 to 19 with a small spike in births, taking the place of 高 (Gāo).
Do you have any Chinese friends or colleagues sporting one of these top 20 common last names from the 2022 government statistics? If not, there’s a pretty good chance their surnames would show up in the top 100 list which I include in the next section!
Also interested in Chinese given names? Check out our guide to the most popular Chinese names, where you’ll find lists of top names for boys and girls in China of 2022, as well as historical trends in baby names over the last 70 years!
And now, I’ll walk you through each surname’s origin and meaning in detail. Before that, there are two things you need to know.
1. Common Chinese family names have only one syllable or character. But double-character and multiple-character family names do exist(they’re called compound surnames).You’ll see examples of these later in this article.
2. Pronunciation of the family names is based on Mandarin Chinese and uses the official romanization scheme in mainland China called “Pinyin”. People from Hongkong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia usually base the romanization on how the names sound in their dialects with other schemes (e.g. Jyutping, Wade-Giles). So it’s common to have different transliterations for the same family name, like “Chen”, “Chan”, “Chin”, “Tan” and so on for Mr 陈depending on which part of the Chinese speaking world he comes from.
All right, without further ado, let’s check out the complete list of the most commonly occurring surnames in China, along with details on each name’s origin and meaning.
Top 10 Surnames in China
The 2022 government report reveals that 30.8% of China’s registered population bears one of the top 5 surnames: 王 (Wáng), 李 (Lǐ), 张 (Zhāng), 刘 (Liú), and 陈 (Chén).
1. 王 (Wáng): 101.5 Million
7.25 % of the Chinese people have the surname 王 (Wáng), making it not only the most common surname in Chinabut also the world. The character 王 means ‘king’. It’s composed of three horizontal lines representing the sky, earth, and people, and a vertical line that connects them, indicating they are all ruled by the king.
Thefamily name王 which has a royalorigin is pronounced and spelled differently among various Chinese dialect groups. For Mandarin speakers, the surname is spelled‘Wang’. Among Cantonese and Hakka speakers, however, this surnameis spelled‘Wong’. Hokkien speakers spell the surname Wang as”Ong”.Finally, in Teochew, it’s spelled ‘Heng’.
Famous people with the surname 王 (Wáng): fashiondesigner Vera Wang (Chinese name: 王薇薇 Wáng Wēiwēi)
2. 李 (Lǐ): 100.9 Million
李 (Lǐ)comes in a close second by representing100.9 million Chinese. It used to be the most common surname in China, but it has now been eclipsedby 王 (Wáng).
The surname 李 (Lǐ), meaning ‘plum’, originated from the plum tree, a totem in ancient China. It was the imperial surname in the Tang dynasty. 李 is generally spelled’Li’in Mandarinand Hokkien. In Cantonese and Hakka, it is spelled‘Lee’or’Lei’.
Famous people with the surname 李 (Lǐ): iconic actor and martial artist Bruce Lee (Chinese name: 李小龙 Lǐ Xiǎolóng)
3. 张(Zhāng): 95.4 Million
张(Zhāng)is the third most common surname in Chinaand the firstin Shanghai. The character 张is in fact a drawing of abow and arrows. It originated from 挥 (Huī), the grandson of the Yellow Emperor who was bestowed the surname 张(Zhāng) after he inventedthe bow and arrow. Thesurname Zhang can be found in many other languages, for example,‘Archer’ in English.
张 is pronounced and spelled differently among various Chinese speakers. In Mandarin Pinyin, the surname is spelled‘Zhang’. In Taiwan, ‘Chang’, the traditional Wade-Giles spelling is used. Cantonese speakers spell the surname ‘Cheung’or ‘Cheong’, Hakka speakers spell and pronounce it as ‘Chong’. Foochowesespeakers spell it as ‘Tiong’or “Diong”. And finally, inHokkien, the surname is spelled ‘Teo’or ‘Teoh’.
Famous people with the surname 张(Zhāng): Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung (Chinese name: 张学友 ZhāngXuéyǒu)
4. 刘(Liú): 72.1 Million
刘(Liú)is the fourth most common Chinese last name. You certainly don’t want to mess with anyone whose family name is 刘(Liú), as the meaning of the character is “kill’– originally.
Joking aside, 刘 (Liú)was the royal surname in the Han Dynasty two thousand years ago. In Cantonese, Hokkien, and Teochew, it’s spelled and pronounced as ‘Low’or ‘Lau’. In Hakka, it’s spelled ‘Liew’or ‘Lew’.
Famous people with the surname 刘 (Liú): Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei (Chinese name: 刘亦菲 Liú Yìfēi), who starred as Mulan in the Disney live-action filmMulan.
5. 陈 (Chén): 63.3 Million
The fifth most common family namein China is 陈 (Chén). It has its origin from the ancient kingdom Chen, which is located in Henan province today.
‘Chen’is the Pinyin spelling used in Mandarin. Among Cantonese and Hakka speakers, the surname is spelled and pronounced‘Chan’.Hokkien and Teochew speakers spell it ‘Tan’. 陈 (Chén) is also the most common family name in Taiwanand Singapore.
Famous people with the surname 陈 (Chén): Chinese-American actress Joan Chen (Chinese name: 陈冲 ChénChōng). Known for her roles in the 1980 Oscar-winning movie The Last Emperorand Twin Peaks.
The next five surnames – 杨 (Yáng), 黄 (Huáng), 赵 (Zhào), 吴 (Wú)and 周 (Zhōu) round out the top 10 most common surnames in China. They are the family names of 163.1 million Chinese people.
6. 杨 (Yáng): 46.2 Million
The sixth popular Chinese family name 杨 (Yáng) originally refers to‘sun rising over poplar forest’, an ancient Totem from the Yang Kingdom founded during the 8th-9th century B.C.
Yangis the standard Mandarin Pinyin spelling. Cantonese speakersspell it‘Yeung’,’Yeong’, or’Young’.Hakka speakers use’Yong’instead of ‘Yang’, and Hokkienspeakers spell and pronounce the surnameas’Ngeo’or’Yiu’.
Famous people with the surname 杨 (Yáng): Chinese actress Yang Mi (Chinese name: 杨幂 Yáng Mì).
7. 黄 (Huáng): 33.7 Million
黄 (Huáng) is the seventh most common surname in China. This surname has the meaning of yellowand originated from the ancient Huang Kingdomfounded in the 7th century B.C.
The Mandarin spelling and pronunciation is’Huang’.Cantonese, Hakka speakers, however, spell and pronounce ‘Huang’as ‘Wong’. In Hokkien and Teochew, it’s spelled ‘Ng’, ‘Eng’, ‘Ooi’or ‘Wee’.
Famous people with the surname 黄 (Huáng): Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming (Chinese name: 黄晓明 Huáng Xiǎomíng).
8. 赵(Zhào): 28.6 Million
The eighth most common last name in China is 赵(Zhào). It originated from the ancient kingdom Zhao. 赵(Zhào) was the surname of the Song Dynasty royalty(year 960-1279). As a result, itappeared first in the famous Chinese book ‘The Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓Bai Jia Xing)’which listedthe top 100Chinesesurnamesat thattime.
‘Zhao’is the Mandarin Romanization in Pinyin; however, in the Wade-Giles system still used in Taiwan, ‘Zhao’ is Romanized as’Chao’. Cantonesespeakersspell it as’Chiu’or’Ziu’, and in Hokkien, it’sspelled and pronounced as’Teo’.
Famous people with the surname 赵(Zhào): Chinese comedian Zhao Benshan (Chinese name: 赵本山 Zhào Běnshān).
9. 吴(Wú): 27.8 Million
The ninth most common Chinese surname 吴(Wú) originated from the Wu Kingdom located in the present Jiangsu Province (Wu dialect was also named after this kingdom). The original meaning of 吴(Wú)is ‘loud’, ‘noisy’.
Cantonese and Hakka speakers spell and pronounce ‘Wu’ as’Ng’. Hokkien and Teochew speakers spell it as ‘Goh’or ‘Go’. In Foochowese, it’s spelled as ‘Ngu’.
Famous people with the surname 吴(Wú): Brunei-born actor and singerWu Chun (Chinese name: 吴尊 Wú Zūn).
10. 周 (Zhōu): 26.8 Million
周 (Zhōu)breaks into the top 10 surnames in China with 26.8 million people. The history of 周 (Zhōu) can be traced back to the era of Yellow Emperor (five thousand years ago). It has its origin from the Zhou clan at the time. The original meaning of 周 is ‘dragon’.
In Taiwan, 周 (Zhōu)is romanized’Chou’among Mandarin speakers. Cantonese speakers pronounce ‘Zhou’as’Chow’or’Chau’. Hakka and Hokkienspeakers pronounceitas’Chew’, ‘Chiu’, or ‘Chu’.
Famous people with the surname 周 (Zhōu): TaiwanesesingerJay Chou (Chinese name: 周杰伦 Zhōu Jiélún).
Top Chinese Surnames Ranks11-20
Here are the next ten common surnames in China, from 11 to 20, along with their meanings.
11. 徐(Xú): 20.2 Million
The surname 徐 (Xú)originated from the ancient kingdom Xu located in the present Anhui Province. The original meaning of the character is ‘slowly’, ‘calmly’. An alternate spelling of ‘Xu’in Chinese dialects is ‘Hsu’.
12. 孙 (Sūn): 19.4 Million
孙(Sūn)means’grandchild, descendant’in Chinese. The surname was the imperial family name of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period.
13. 马(Mǎ): 19.1 Million
马 (Mǎ) means ‘horse’in Chinese, however,as a surname, 马 (Mǎ)has nothing to do with the horse, but rather the area 马服 (Mǎfú) located in the present Hebei Province. A variant in spelling is ‘Mah’.
14. 朱(Zhū): 18.1 Million
朱(Zhū)means’vermilion red’. The surnamerefersto the ancient Kingdomof Zhu, which existed in what is now Shandong province. 朱(Zhū) was the imperial surname of the Ming dynasty.The alternative spelling of ‘Zhu’is ‘Chu’based on Chinese regional dialects.
15. 胡 (Hú): 16.5 Million
胡 (Hú)means ‘beard’, ‘whiskers’in Chinese. Duke of Chen Kingdom, a descendant of theEmperor Shun (2257–2205 B.C.)was bestowed the family name胡 (Hú), and his descendants adopted this name as their surname.Hokkien speakers spell and pronounce the surname as ‘Oh’.
16. 郭(Guō): 15.8 Million
The original meaning of 郭 (Guō) is ‘outer city wall’. The surname refers to the ancient Kingdom of Xiguo. Among Cantonese speakers, ‘Guo’ is spelled and pronounced’Kwok’.Hakka speakers use’Kok’, and Hokkienspeakers spell and pronounce itas’Kuek’or’Kweh’.
17. 何(Hé): 14.8 Million
何 (Hé) originally means ‘carry the load’in Chinese. The surname 何 (Hé)can be traced far back to the Yellow Emperor period. However, the prevalent theory about the origin of the surname 何 (Hé)is that it stemmed and branched from the surname 韩 (Hán).
18. 林(Lín): 14.2 Million
The Chinese surname 林 (Lín) means ‘forest’. In Cantonese, it’s spelled as ‘Lam’, while in Hokkien, Hakka, and Foochowese, it’s spelled as ‘Lim’.
19. 罗(Luó): 14.2 Million
罗 (Luó) originally means ‘bird catching net’in Chinese. The surname originated from the Luo Kingdom during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 B.C.). Somevariantsin spelling include‘Loh’, ‘Law’and ‘Lau’.
20高 (Gāo): 14.1 Million
The Chinese family name 高 (Gāo) can be literally translated as “high” or “tall”. It comes from the name of the area ‘Gao’in the state of Qi during the Western Zhou dynasty (1122–771 B.C.). Some places, such as Taiwan, usually romanize this family name into ‘Kao’. In Hong Kong, it is romanized as‘Ko’. In Macau, it is romanized as‘Kou’.
Top Chinese Surnames Ranks 21-101
Want more? Here’s the list of the Chinese surnames ranked between 21 and 101.
21. 郑 (Zhèng)
22. 梁 (Liáng)
23. 谢 (Xiè)
24. 宋 (Sòng)
25. 唐 (Táng)
26. 许 (Xǔ)
27. 韩 (Hán)
28. 邓 (Dèng)
29. 冯 (Féng)
30. 曹 (Cáo)
31. 彭 (Péng)
32. 曾 (Zēng)
33. 肖 (Xiāo)
34. 田 (Tián)
35. 董 (Dǒng)
36. 潘 (Pān)
37. 袁 (Yuán)
38. 蔡 (Cài)
39. 蒋 (Jiǎng)
40. 余 (Yú)
41. 于 (Yú)
42. 杜 (Dù)
43. 叶 (Yè)
44. 程 (Chéng)
45. 魏 (Wèi)
46. 苏 (Sū)
47. 吕 (Lǚ)
48. 丁 (Dīng)
49. 任 (Rèn)
50. 卢 (Lú)
51. 姚 (Yáo)
52. 沈 (Shěn)
53. 钟 (Zhōng)
54. 姜 (Jiāng)
55. 崔 (Cuī)
56. 谭 (Tán)
57. 陆 (Lù)
58. 范 (Fàn)
59. 汪 (Wāng)
60. 廖 (Liào)
61. 石 (Shí)
62. 金 (Jīn)
63. 韦 (Wéi)
64. 贾 (Jiǎ)
65. 夏 (Xià)
66. 付 (Fù)
67. 方 (Fāng)
68. 邹 (Zōu)
69. 熊 (Xióng)
70. 白 (Bái)
71. 孟 (Mèng)
72. 秦 (Qín)
73. 邱 (Qiū)
74. 侯 (Hóu)
75. 江 (Jiāng)
76. 尹 (Yǐn)
77. 薛 (Xuē)
78. 闫 (Yán)
79. 段 (Duàn)
80. 雷 (Léi)
81. 龙 (Lóng)
82. 黎 (Lí)
83. 史 (Shǐ)
84. 陶 (Táo)
85. 贺 (Hè)
86. 毛 (Máo)
87. 郝 (Hǎo)
88. 顾 (Gù)
89. 龚 (Gōng)
90. 邵 (Shào)
91. 万 (Wàn)
92. 覃 (Qín)
93. 武 (Wǔ)
94. 钱 (Qián)
95. 戴 (Dài)
96. 严 (Yán)
97. 莫 (Mò)
98. 孔 (Kǒng)
99. 向 (Xiàng)
100. 常 (Cháng)
101. 欧 (Ōu)
Most Common Double-character Chinese Surnames
While the vast majority of Chinese family names consist of only one character (one syllable), dozens of double-character family names have survived into modern times. They are commonly referred to as ‘复姓 fùxìng’– compound surnames.
There are many originsof compound surnames. Some derive from royal or official titles, place-names, professions, while others originate from non-Han Chinese clans that lived in ancient Chinaor were simply created by combining two single-character family names.
Only a few double-character surnames are still commonly seen in China nowadays, with 欧阳 (Ōuyáng), 上官 (Shàngguān), 皇甫 (Huángfǔ) being the most popular ones, shared by 1.271 million Chinese people.
Though becoming rare in real life, compound surnames can still be found quite commonly in Chinese Wuxia novels and movies (a genre of fiction featuring the lives and adventures of martial artists in ancient China) as thenamessort of ooze a “martial-chivalric”feel and seem extraordinary.
Here is the list of the 14 most common Chinese surnames with two characters.
- 欧阳 (Ōuyáng): 1.117 Million
- 上官 (Shàngguān): 89 Thousand
- 皇甫 (Huángfǔ): 65 Thousand
- 令狐 (Línghú): 55 Thousand
- 诸葛 (Zhūgě): 49 Thousand
- 司徒 (Sītú): 47 Thousand
- 司马 (Sīmǎ): 23 Thousand
- 申屠 (Shēntú): 19 Thousand
- 夏侯 (Xiàhóu): 11 Thousand
- 贺兰 (Hèlán): 10 Thousand
- 完颜 (Wányán): 7 Thousand
- 慕容 (Mùróng): 5 Thousand
- 尉迟 (Yùchí): 4 Thousand
- 长孙 (Zhǎngsūn): 3 Thousand
Most Common Family Names for Chinese Newborns
王 (Wáng)is the most common surname in China, but it’s not the most common surname among Chinese babies.
According to the data from the 2021 Chinese government report, 李 (Lǐ) is the most common surname given to newborns in China the previous year.
10.035 million babies were born in 2020, and 李 (Lǐ)came out on top with 725,972 babies registering it as their last name. It was followed by 王 (Wáng), 张(Zhāng), 刘(Liú), and 陈 (Chén).
The top 10 surnames for Chinese newborns are:
- 李 (Lǐ): 725,972
- 王 (Wáng): 707,524
- 张(Zhāng): 670,291
- 刘(Liú): 505,749
- 陈 (Chén): 464,557
- 杨 (Yáng): 339,075
- 黄 (Huáng): 253,963
- 吴(Wú): 201,063
- 赵(Zhào): 199,046
- 周 (Zhōu): 184,753
Why Are Chinese Surnames So Common?
You may have noticed while China has the world’s largest population (1.4 billion), it has adisproportionately smallsurname pool (less than 6,000 surnames in use). What’s more curious is that of these surnames, the top ones are incredibly common – if you stop a random person on the street in China, there’s a 30.8% chance he or she is either Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu, or Chen!
To put that into perspective, the U.S. – with only 23.64% of China’s population, reported 6.3 million surnames in its 2010 census. And the most common U.S. surname – Smith is shared by no more than0.75% of its people.
So why do the Chinese have so few surnames? Why are Chinese surnames so common?
There are five reasons.
1. Many surnames are derivedfrom place–names.
By place, I don’t mean just villages or towns. Many ‘big’Chinese surnames originate from the names of ancient states or kingdoms, for example, 赵(Zhào), which was about the size of Britain. You can picture the sheer number of people that adopted the surname to reflect where they were from.
2. It’s hard to create a new surname in Chinese.
Unlike European names that often come with many spelling variations (e.g. in French: Bernaud, Bernat, Bernau, Bernaus, Bernaut, Bernaux…), there is only one standard written form of each Chinese surname even though it sounds different in various dialects
For example, ‘Huang’ in Mandarin, ‘Wong’ in Cantonese, ‘Ng’ in Hokkien and ‘Wee’ in Hakka all correspond to the same surname written down in character: 黄. You can’t just add a random stroke to a Chinese character like adding a letter to a European name and create a new surname.
3. Many ancient surnames have disappeared naturally over time.
In China, the inheritance of surnames was predominantly through the male line. There were more surnames in ancient China than it is now, but with girls taking on their father’s surnames in each generation, many were lost or died out over time.
Compared with younger nations where surnames didn’t become common practice until more recently, China has lost substantially more surnames for its long history (surnames appeared in China at least 3,000 years earlier than in Europe).
4. China is less racially and ethnically diverse than most other countries.
Unlike countries where a wealth of minoritygroups add great diversity to surnames (e.g, two Hispanic surnames – Garcia and Rodriguez – made the top 10 list in the U.S.), China is overwhelmingly homogeneous. 91.51% of the country’s population is ethnically Han Chinese.
And over the long history, ethnic minorities also adopted Han Chinese surnames, sometimes voluntarily to assimilate into Han Chinese culture, sometimes given no choice during periods of war, conflict, or intense ‘ethnicunity’campaigns.
5. People with rare characters in surnames are prompted to change names.
For centuries, people with rare characters in their names could get by, since documents were all handwritten. But when the digital age arrived, many faced issues of non-computable names – not all Chinese characters have been coded into computer systems (Chinese government worked hard in the past years to expand the database to include 70,000 characters whereas there are only 3,500 common characters in daily use, but even so, tens of thousands of even rarer characters were left out).
And if the character in your surname happens to be so rare that it’s not registered in the database or font library, you won’t be able to get a new digitized national ID card, and certainly can’t do anything online from opening a bank account to booking a train ticket. Many felt they had no choice but to change their surnames to a similar-sounding but more common character.
Family Name or Given Name?
A Chinese person’s name consists of a 姓 (xìng) – family name, and a 名 (míng) – given name (also known as ‘first name”in western culture). The family name is usually only one character, while the given name normally consists of one or two characters (two-character given name is more common nowadays).
Chinese people place more importance on the concept of a family than on any individual family member, hence, the family name comes before the given name.
Take the Chinese name 王建国 (WángJiànguó) for example, the first character 王 (Wáng) is the family name, and 建国 (Jiànguó) is the given name. This is the most common type of Chinese name.
However, people with experience of living in the West sometimes reverse their names when interacting in English to conform to the common Western practice. If you are not sure whether a switch has been made when you meet Chinese people and they introduce themselves, it’s perfectly acceptableto ask which of their names is their family name or their given name.
How Important Is Family Name to Chinese People?
Compared with Westerners, the Chinese have a totally different attitude toward surnames.
Western families apparently place greater importance on selecting a cool, unique given name (e.g. Gravity Blueor Audio Science) than carrying on an ordinary, common family surname (e.g. Smith or Johnson).
Chinese, on the other hand, really don’t care that much about given names and instead place greater importance on the extremely limited number of family names, as Chinese society regards family names as a symbol of one’s blood relationship.
Feudal-minded people prefer sons simply because then their grandchildren are more likely to inherit their family name.Similar to most other countries, children in China usually keep their father’s surname(but it’s not a must).
Fun Facts about Chinese Family Names
- The Chinese character 姓 (xìng), meaning ‘family name’, has a 女 (nǚ) radical, meaning ‘female’, an indication that the Chinese had once a matriarchal society.
- In the past, only privileged people had a family name. Common people did not, until they were bestowed.
- Chinese women usually keep their maiden name after marriage rather than adopting their husband’s surname.
- Chinese family names are often inspired by daily things and activities, and hence can be anything. For instance: sugar, salt, oil, vinegar, tea, wine, money, laugh, cry, live, die…
- The simplest Chinese family name consists of only one stroke: 一 yī (meaning: one)
- The longest Chinese family name consists of 17 characters: 鲁纳娄于古母遮熟多吐母苦啊德补啊喜
- Cow, sheep, dog, pig, duck, goose, tiger, cat, bug, fish, bird, elephant – these are all real Chinese family names.
FAQs
What are the most common surnames in China? ›
The top five surnames in China – Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu, Chen – are also the top five surnames in the world, each with over 70-100 million worldwide.
What are the oldest Chinese surnames? ›According to ancient documents, the earliest surname in China was "Feng", and the earliest surnames were "Fuxi", "Shennong", "Nuwa's" and so on. The most commonly used ones in China are "Li", "Wang", "Zhang", "Liu", "Chen", "Yang" and so on. 100 common surnames, accounting for about 85% of China's total population.
What is the royal surname in China? ›Wáng (王) Wáng is the most common surname in mainland China and is a royal surname meaning “King.” This surname has origins from multiple royal families from the Qin dynasty to the Tang dynasty. Those with the surname Wang are likely descendants of royalty.
What is the No 1 surname in the world? ›The most popular last name in the world is Wang, meaning "king." About 92.8 million people in mainland China have the royal last name of Wang.
What is the best Chinese name for a girl? ›- Ài (爱). It's a name that means “love” and “affection” and is fit for a little princess. ...
- Ǎi (蔼). This name is similar to the name Ài. ...
- Chun (春). Another common Chinese girl name you could select is Chun. ...
- Fang (芳). ...
- Fēn (芬). ...
- Hua (花). ...
- Jing (静). ...
- Li (丽).
- Wang (王) Wang is the most common surname in mainland China, which represents 92.8 million people, and is a royal surname meaning 'King'.
- Li (李) ...
- Zhang (张) ...
- Liu (刘) ...
- Chen (陈) ...
- Yang (杨) ...
- Huang (黄) ...
- Zhao (赵)
- Start with Your Last Name. ...
- Choose the Length of Your Name. ...
- Get Creative and Abstract. ...
- Put the Last Name and First Name Together. ...
- Always Use a Chinese Dictionary. ...
- Come up with a Few Name Ideas and Test them All Out. ...
- 6.5 Additional Step.
Chinese surnames usually come first, followed by the given name. In our earlier example, Chan Tai Man, Chan is the surname while Tai Man is the given name.
What is the rarest Chinese last name? ›1. Gui. Gui is the rarest Chinese surname on this list. It is an ancient surname ranked as the 3159th common surname used in present-day China.
Do Chinese have middle names? ›In Chinese, the family name comes first, followed by the given name. There is no equivalent of a middle name in Chinese. About one in seven people in China have a name that is only two syllables, and very few people have names that are four syllables or more.
What is low Chinese surname? ›
Low is a Chinese surname that can be spelled in 6 different ways in Chinese: 罗 / 羅 [Luo / Low] Meaning: gauze, to collect, to gather, to catch, to sift. Regions : United States, Singapore.
What is a royal female name? ›Diana, Elizabeth, Eugine, and Mary are some famous yet common royal names for girls.
What is the surname King in Chinese? ›Wang 王 is the Chinese word for "king".
What were Queen Elizabeth's last words? ›Elizabeth I died in Richmond Palace. At the time of her death she was reported to have a full inch of makeup on her face. Her rumoured last words were: “All my possessions for one moment of time.”
What is the most powerful surname? ›1. Abbott. The name Abbott is derived from the Old French word abet, which means “priest.” It also has origins in Greek and Latin, where it means “power.”
What is the most successful surname? ›| Rank | Surname | Surname Origin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smith | English |
| 2 | Johnson | English, Scottish |
| 3 | Williams | English, Welsh |
| 4 | Brown | English, Scottish, Irish |
- The Walton family with $224.5 billion.
- The Mars family with $160 billion.
- The Koch family with $128.8 billion.
- The Al Saud family with $105 billion.
- The Hermès family with $94.6 billion.
- The Ambani family with $84.6 billion.
- The Wertheimer family with $79 billion.
Jiayi. Jiayi is a Chinese girl name meaning “lucky one.” In Chinese culture, good luck is essential.
What Chinese girl name means love? ›The word 愛 (ài) means “love” or “lovely” and is pronounced like the English letter “I.” This character 愛 (ài) can be used as a standalone name or combined with other Chinese characters.
Why do Chinese have two names? ›The first name is only used or called by oneself to show one's self-modesty while the style name is only used or called by others to show others' respect to the person they address. Many people also have a pseudonym (Hao). It's also for others to address, just like the style name, but with more respect.
What is your honorable last name in Chinese? ›
Ask 您贵姓 (nín guì xìng) when asking someone their name
This phrase literally means, “what's your honorable surname?”
Chinese naming conventions arrange names as follows: [FAMILY NAME] [given name]. For example, ZHANG Chen (male) and WANG Xiu (female). The family name (or 'surname') is inherited from one's parents and shared with other members of the individual's immediate family .
Can you pick your own Chinese name? ›To choose a Chinese name for yourself, first start with your surname. You will most likely want to choose from one of the 100 most common Chinese surnames, which actually make up 87% of the population. Usually you would want to choose a surname that sounds similar to your own last name.
How do Chinese choose their English name? ›Many Chinese celebrities have English names so people choose the same name that their favorite singer or actor uses. Other people choose the names of American movie stars or even a character they play. Some people choose a name from their favorite book, either the author's or the main character's name.
Can you have two surnames in China? ›Although two-syllable surnames exist, they are not common. The most common xìng in China, shared by nearly 93 million people, is Wang (王) which means 'King'. The next most common xìng, are Li (李), Zhang (张), Liu (刘), Chen (陈), Yang (杨), Huang (黄), Zhao (赵), Wu (吴) and Zhou (周).
How do Chinese parents name their child? ›Chinese families usually give their new baby a name made up of two syllables from the Chinese alphabet, each with individual meanings. Because there are thousands of characters in the Chinese alphabet, it's rare to find two people with the same first name. Some characters are used more often than others, though.
Do Chinese families have the same last name? ›Traditionally Chinese surnames have been exogamous in that people tend to marry those with different last names. The most common Chinese surnames were compiled in the Song dynasty work Hundred Family Surnames, which lists over 400 names. The colloquial expressions lǎobǎixìng (老百姓; lit.
What is the old name of China? ›Chinese names for China, aside from Zhongguo, include Zhōnghuá (中華/中华, "central beauty"), Huáxià (華夏/华夏, "beautiful grandness"), Shénzhōu (神州, "divine state") and Jiǔzhōu (九州, "nine states").
What Chinese surnames mean dark? ›Lí 黎 (2nd tone), the 84th most common surname in China. "Lai" or "Lye" in Cantonese. The character also means "dark".
What is the most famous Chinese name? ›The top 100 surnames account for 85.9 percent of the Chinese population. Zhāng Wěi 张伟, Wáng Wěi 王伟, and Lǐ Nà 李娜 are the three most common full names.
What Chinese last name means dragon? ›
Long is the pinyin romanization of a Chinese surname. It includes 龍 / 龙, which means "dragon" in Chinese, ranking number 80 on the list of common Chinese surnames in 2006, up from 108 in 1990. Another name transcribed as Long is 隆, which is very rare in contemporary China.
Why do Chinese have 3 names? ›Until the mid-1900s in China, a person usually had three names besides his or her surname: ming, zi and hao. Ming is the name given by parents; Zi is the name granted to a person at the beginning of adulthood – men usually at the age of 20 and women at 15.
How many surnames does China have? ›There are over 4,000 surnames in use today in China, however the top 100 make up over 85% of China's 1.3 billion population. In fact, the top three surnames, Wang (王), Li (李), and Zhang (张) account for over 20% of the population.
What is the most common Chinese name? ›The top 100 surnames account for 85.9 percent of the Chinese population. Zhāng Wěi 张伟, Wáng Wěi 王伟, and Lǐ Nà 李娜 are the three most common full names. (There were 294,282 registered people named Zhang Wei).