How Chinese Names Work: Surnames, Given Names, Meaning
How do Chinese names work? Surname first, one- or two-character given names, generation characters, reading a name's meaning, and romanisation in Taiwan.
A Chinese name starts with the surname, followed by the given name. 王小明 is Wáng (surname) and Xiǎomíng (given name). Most surnames are one character, most given names are one or two characters, so the usual name is three characters. Every character has a meaning, and the given name is usually chosen to carry a hope for the child. This guide covers how that works in Taiwan, how to read a name, and the points that confuse learners: order, address, and romanisation. Choosing a name for yourself has its own guide, Choosing a Chinese Name in Taiwan.
The structure
| Part | Chinese | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surname | 姓 (xìng) | 陳, 林, 王 | One character in most cases |
| Given name | 名 (míng) | 美玲, 志明 | One or two characters |
| Full name | 姓名 (xìngmíng) | 陳美玲 | Surname first, always |
姓 marks the family a person belongs to, and 名 is the personal name. Common surnames in Taiwan include 陳 (Chén), 林 (Lín), 黃 (Huáng), 張 (Zhāng) and 李 (Lǐ).
One- and two-character given names
A given name is one character (單名, dānmíng) or two. Two-character given names are very common in Taiwan, so a typical full name has three characters: 陳美玲, 林志明. A one-character given name makes a two-character full name, such as 王偉.
Two-character surnames
A minority of surnames have two characters. These are called 複姓 (fùxìng), with examples such as 歐陽 (Ōuyáng), 司馬 (Sīmǎ), 諸葛 (Zhūgé) and 尉遲 (Yùchí). A person with surname 歐陽 and given name 志明 is 歐陽志明, which is four characters. Knowing the surname list helps you cut the name in the right place.
Surnames with special readings
A few surnames are read differently from the same character in other words. For example, 曾 is Zēng as a surname and céng in the word 曾經. 查 is Zhā as a surname and chá in 檢查. When you meet a surname you do not know, check how it is read before you say it aloud.
Why the order matters
When you write or say a Chinese name, the surname comes first. If you introduce yourself in Chinese with a Chinese name, give the surname first: 我姓陳，叫陳美玲 (Wǒ xìng Chén, jiào Chén Měilíng). In English-language contexts people in Taiwan may flip the order and write “Meiling Chen”, so watch which order a person uses when you read an English-language name.
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How people address each other
- Surname plus a courtesy title for a person you do not know well: 陳先生 (Chén xiānsheng, Mr. Chen), 陳小姐 (Chén xiǎojiě, Ms. Chen), 陳老師 (Chén lǎoshī, Teacher Chen). At work, surname plus job title: see Job Titles in Taiwan.
- Among peers, the full name (陳美玲) is common. The given name alone (美玲, 志明) is for people you are close to. The surname alone is abrupt. The full name is also used for formal introductions, roll calls and official documents.
- A doubled syllable or a pet name for close people. 小名 (xiǎomíng) is an informal name, and 乳名 (rǔmíng) a childhood name. Many people grow up with one.
Reading the meaning of a name
Take a given name and read each character on its own.
| Name | Characters | Rough sense |
|---|---|---|
| 志明 (Zhìmíng) | 志 ambition, resolve; 明 bright | a bright, determined person |
| 美玲 (Měilíng) | 美 beautiful; 玲 (as in 玲瓏, delicate, clear) | a graceful, clear-toned person |
| 怡君 (Yíjūn) | 怡 cheerful; 君 gentleman, lord | a cheerful person of good character |
| 偉傑 (Wěijié) | 偉 great; 傑 outstanding | a great and outstanding person |
| 欣怡 (Xīnyí) | 欣 joyful; 怡 cheerful | a joyful, easy-going person |
The glosses are literal readings of each character. A name is a wish and a sentence is something else, so no single translation is right.
Patterns you will notice
- Characters about strength, success and ambition (偉, 宏, 傑, 志) are common in men’s names, and characters about grace, beauty and gentleness (婷, 雅, 怡, 玲) are common in women’s names. These are tendencies, not rules, and many names are used for both.
- Parents also look at sound, for example avoiding a combination that sounds like an unfortunate word, and in some families at stroke counts or the advice of a name specialist. How much weight to give these varies by family.
- Traditionally, a family avoids using a character from an elder’s name. This old practice is called 避諱 (bìhuì).
Generation names
In some families, brothers, sisters and cousins of the same generation share one character in the given name. For example, siblings named 陳俊宏 and 陳俊傑 share 俊 (jùn). The shared character is often fixed in the family record, the 族譜 (zúpǔ), the record of a clan or family lineage. The sense of rank in the family, 輩分 (bèifen), is the reason for it.
How common this is varies. It is more usual in families that keep a 族譜, and less usual in many modern families. If you meet a group of relatives who share a character, this may be the reason. Do not assume it.
Married names
In Taiwan a married woman normally keeps her own surname in daily life. Which surname a child takes is a legal matter as well as a custom. If you need an exact answer for a form or a legal document, check with the household registration office, 戶政事務所, and do not rely on custom.
Romanisation of names in Taiwan
Names in Taiwan appear in the Latin alphabet in several systems, and the same name can look different on different documents. 蔡 may be written Tsai (a Wade-Giles-style spelling) or Cai (Hanyu Pinyin). 周 is often Chou or Zhou, 許 is Hsu or Xu, and 呂 is Lu or Lyu.
On a Taiwan passport, the romanised name is chosen at the first application. An applicant without an existing foreign-language name spells the Chinese name syllable by syllable in a national language. The Bureau of Consular Affairs (領事事務局) conversion tool offers Wade-Giles, Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II, Tongyong Pinyin and Hanyu Pinyin, and a Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka or indigenous-language reading may be used instead. After that, the spelling should stay the same as on the old passport, and a surname should match the spelling used by relatives. That is why Wade-Giles-style surnames such as Tsai, Chou and Hsu persist: families keep them.
This also explains why a person’s English name on a passport may not look like the pinyin you would expect from the Chinese characters. When you look a name up, the characters are the reliable key, because the spelling varies. A Zhuyin chart and a pinyin chart give the sounds, and the dictionary has the characters.
For foreign residents, the romanisation used for the name on an ARC is covered in Choosing a Chinese Name in Taiwan.
Saying a name correctly
If you are unsure how a character in someone’s name is read, ask them. Some characters have more than one reading, and a person’s own name is the one place where their preference settles it.
Trying names
The Chinese name generator can suggest names for you. If you are choosing a name, read the guide to choosing one first, as it covers the rules and the mistakes to avoid.
Related reading
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