A Chinese name is short, but every part of it is chosen. The surname comes first, the given name is usually one or two characters, and each character carries a meaning, a sound and, for traditional families, an element. This guide explains how Chinese names are built, why the same surname is spelled four ways in Singapore, and how to choose a Chinese name if you do not have one.
Surname first, then the given name
In 陈美玲 (Chén Měilíng), 陈 is the family name and 美玲 is the given name. The family comes before the person, which is the opposite of English order.
- Surnames are almost always one character. A few two-character surnames exist, such as 欧阳 (Ōuyáng) and 司徒 (Sītú), but they are rare.
- Given names are one or two characters. Two is the most common today, which gives the familiar three-character full name.
- Women keep their own surname at marriage in Chinese custom. In English, many are still addressed as Mrs plus their husband’s surname.
Why one surname has four spellings
Singapore’s Chinese families mostly came from southern China, and their names were first written down in their own dialect. So the surname 陈 is Chen in Hanyu Pinyin but Tan in Hokkien and Teochew, and Chan in Cantonese. 林 is Lin in Pinyin and Lim in Hokkien. 黄 is Huang in Pinyin, Ng in Hokkien and Teochew, and Wong in Cantonese.
This is why a Tan and a Chen in Singapore can share the same character. The English spelling tells you about a family’s dialect group as much as its name. Younger Singaporeans often have a dialect surname with a Pinyin given name, such as Tan Mei Ling, a mix that records the shift to Mandarin since the Speak Mandarin Campaign began in 1979.
Generation names
Many traditional families use a generation name, 字辈 (zìbèi). All siblings and cousins of one generation share a character, usually the first of the given name. The characters for each generation are fixed in advance, often as a poem in the family’s genealogy book, so a name tells relatives exactly which generation you belong to.
Fewer families follow this now, but you will still see brothers named 志明 and 志强, with 志 as the shared generation character.
How a character is chosen
Parents weigh several things at once when choosing each character:
- Meaning. Common themes are virtue (德, 仁), beauty (美, 丽), wisdom (慧), strength (强) and nature (山, 云).
- Sound. The tones should flow when the full name is said aloud, and the name should not sound like something unfortunate. Names are checked in dialect too, since a fine name in Mandarin can be an awkward pun in Hokkien or Cantonese.
- Writing. Very complex or very rare characters are avoided, because a child has to write the name every day and some rare characters do not display on forms.
- Elements. Traditional naming also considers each character’s element in the five elements, so the name supports what the child’s birth chart needs.
That last step is a discipline of its own. Our guide to Ba Zi baby naming explains how the chart is read first and the characters chosen after, and why schools disagree on which element a character belongs to.
Choosing a Chinese name for yourself
If you are not Chinese and want a Chinese name, for work, study or a partner’s family, there are two approaches.
By sound
A transliteration copies the sound of your name: Anna becomes 安娜 (Ānnà). This is how foreign names are written in Chinese newspapers. It is clear, but it can sound foreign and the characters may carry no particular meaning.
By sound and meaning
A better approach picks a real Chinese surname close to your own, then a given name with a good meaning and a hint of your original sound. A Mr Martin might become 马 (Mǎ), a real surname, with a given name chosen for meaning. The result reads as a proper Chinese name.
Mistakes to avoid
- Characters picked from a list for meaning alone, which combine into a name no Chinese speaker would use.
- Puns you cannot hear yourself. Always ask a native speaker, ideally two, to say the name aloud.
- Translating your name word for word. Chinese names are not translated, they are composed.
When the name matters more
For most people, a name is chosen with care and then simply lived in. For a newborn, or for an adult changing a business name, families in Singapore often want the name checked against the birth chart as well.
That is part of our baby name selection service, and it can also come up in a Ba Zi reading: one hour with the chart on the table and a written summary afterwards. No fear-selling, and no claim that a name alone will change a life.