Chinese names
24 names from the Chinese naming tradition, each with its meaning, origin, pronunciation and how it is seen around the world.
- AiGirlMost often 爱 (ài), "love"; other characters give "youthful beauty", "kindly" or "soft mist".
- Bo (Chinese)UnisexFrom Chinese 波 (bō): "wave". Other characters with similar sounds may also be used.
- Dan (Chinese)UnisexFrom the Chinese word 丹 (dān), "cinnabar" or "vermilion red," though other characters with the same sound can lie…
- GuanyinGirlFrom Chinese 观 (guān), "to observe", and 音 (yīn), "sound": one who perceives the sounds of the world, understood as the…
- HaoxuanUnisexMost often 皓 or 浩 (both hào, "bright" or "vast, expansive") joined with 轩 (xuān, "lofty, elevated"); other…
- HaoyuUnisexMost often 浩 or 皓 (both hào, "vast, expansive" or "bright") joined with 宇 (yǔ, "universe, the space under heaven").
- HeUnisexDepends on the character: 河 (hé) "river, stream", 和 (hé) "harmony, peace", or 荷 (hé) "lotus", the last almost always a…
- Heng (Chinese)UnisexDepends on the character: 恒/恆 (héng) "constant, enduring" or 亨 (hēng, a different tone) "smooth-progressing…
- HepingBoyFrom 和平 (héping), the everyday Chinese word for "peace": 和 "harmony" plus 平 "level, calm".
- HongUnisexDepends on the character: most often 红/紅 (hóng), "red", though 虹 "rainbow", 弘 "great, expansive" and 鸿/鴻 "wild swan…
- HongmeiGirlFrom 红梅/紅梅 (hóngméi), literally "red plum blossom": 红 "red" plus 梅 "plum blossom".
- JunGirlDepends on the character: 君 "noble one" and 珺 "fine jade" suit a girl, while 俊 and 军 read as boys' names.
- Kai (Chinese)BoyDepending on the characters chosen, typically conveys ideas of "triumph", "victory" or "the music of victory".
- Lei (Chinese)UnisexFrom Chinese characters: 磊 (lěi) meaning "pile of stones, openness, or integrity" (typically associated with masculine…
- Lin (Chinese)UnisexA Chinese name, typically written with characters meaning forest (林) or jade (琳).
- MeiGirlMost often 美 (měi), "beautiful", or 梅 (méi), the plum blossom that braves winter.
- Min (Chinese)GirlMost often 敏 (mǐn), "quick-witted, perceptive"; also 珉, a jade-like stone, or 旻, the autumn sky.
- MingUnisexMost often 明 (míng), "bright, clear", or 铭 (míng), "to inscribe, engrave"; other same-sounding characters can spell it…
- MingzeUnisexDepends on the characters: often 明 (míng), "bright", or 茗 (míng), "tea", combined with 泽 (zé), "marsh, grace".
- MuUnisexMost often 牧 (mù), "shepherd, to tend", though 木 (mù) "tree, wood", 慕 (mù) "to admire" and 穆 (mù) "solemn, reverent"…
- MuchenUnisexUsually 沐 (mù), "to bathe, be graced by", paired with 宸 (chén), "palace, imperial residence", or 辰 (chén), "a heavenly…
- NaGirlFrom 娜, historically read nuó and meaning "graceful, willowy", now usually read nà as a stand-alone Chinese girl's name.
- NingUnisexFrom 宁 (níng), "peaceful, calm, serene"; 寧 is the same character in traditional script.
- Yan (Chinese)UnisexDepends on the characters chosen: most commonly "beautiful" (艳), "swallow/bird" (燕), or "cliff/rocks" (岩).