197 Chinese Baby Names With Meanings
Rejoice in oriental delight with timeless treasures from the Land of Dragons.
Illustration: MomJunction Design Team
Are you looking for an offbeat baby name for your child? How about exploring some Chinese baby names? Like the years-old Chinese heritage and culture, even Chinese names symbolize virtue, ancient treasures, and serenity. There's an extreme diversity in Chinese names due to the different dynasties, religions like Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, and, of course, Mandarin and Cantonese dialects. Chinese names are mainly made up of a few characters. The family name is the first character, followed by the given name. The characters should combine in such a way that it brings prosperity and good luck to the child, as the meanings of names are very significant to the Chinese people. They believe that a good name brings fame and respect to the bearer and a name with a bad meaning brings a hard life. Traditional Chinese male names connote prosperity, strength, and characteristics parents hope their babies inherit. On the other hand, baby girl names skew towards nature, beauty, and grace. Chinese naming convention follows a different order than the Western tradition. They add their given name after their surname or family name. And women typically do not alter their surnames after marriage (1). The titles often feature one or two characters with deep symbolic meaning and ideal characteristics that Chinese parents highly value, including beauty, intelligence, compassion, and strength. When naming their children, they adhere to this practice. Baby girls are frequently given delicate feminine names with calming overtones to complement their naturally masculine family names. Another historic naming custom in China is the milk name or small name, which is given to the child at birth (2). If you've decided to choose a Chinese name for your child, you've stumbled upon the perfect place. Our post has a rich resource of Chinese baby names with meanings. Have a look!
| Name | Gender | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ai |  Girl | Love; Affection | |
| Alix | Girl | Noble | |
| An |  Unisex | The one who is gracious and satisfying | |
| Bai | Girl | White and crystal clear; Pure | |
| Bambang | Boy | A knight or a soldier | |
| Bao | Unisex | Jewel; Treasure; Precious | |
| Barde | Boy | One who Sings Ballads | |
| Bartek | Boy | Son of Talmai; Farmer's son | |
| Bartolomeo | Boy | Son of a farmer | |
| Beaufort | Boy | From the Beautiful Fort | |
| Bence | Boy | Victor | |
| Bengt | Boy | Blessed; To give honor or glory to a person or thing as divine or holy | |
| Benjimen | Boy | Right-hand son; Similar to Benedict; Son of the right-hand | |
| Benyamin | Boy | Jacob's youngest son; Son of the right-hand | |
| Bergin | Boy | Spear-like; Lives on the Hill | |
| Bernarda | Girl | Feminine of Bernard | |
| Berndt | Boy | Brave Like a Bear | |
| Berthold | Boy | Brilliant Ruler; Bright Strength; Renowned Leader | |
| Bethsheba | Girl | Oath | |
| Bi | Girl | A Chinesee name meaning Green Jade | |
| Biaggio | Boy | One who stammers | |
| Bik | Boy | Stride; Strong | |
| Billi | Girl | Will-helmet | |
| Biming | Boy | As clear as jade; a homestead provided for people | |
| Binyamin | Boy | Son of the right hand | |
| Blaike | Boy | Light | |
| Bo | Girl | To live; Powerful | |
| Bolin | Boy | An elder brother of the rain | |
| Caihong | Girl | Rainbow | |
| Cao | Unisex | Grasp | |
| Chang | Boy | Flourish; Good; Sunlight; Unrestrained | |
| Change | Boy | Adoption of a different route | |
| Chao | Unisex | The one who surpasses | |
| Chaun | Boy | The one who has financial and emotional security | |
| Chen | Boy | Morning; Grace | |
| Cheng | Unisex | Completed; Sincere | |
| Chenric | Unisex | Amazing morning | |
| Cheung | Boy | Fortunate man | |
| Chin | Boy | Variant of Jin | |
| China | Unisex | Filled with affection | |
| Chu | Girl | Pearl; A precious jewel used worldwide | |
| Chun | Unisex | The spring season; the season of blooms | |
| Chung | Boy | The person who is wise and has deep understanding in various matters | |
| Cong | Unisex | Intelligent; one who has lots of wisdom and excels in every aspect | |
| Cui | Girl | A Prince; advent of night | |
| Da Xia | Girl | Biggest hero | |
| Delun | Boy | One who lays down order and gives justice | |
| Dingbang | Boy | One who protects his country | |
| Dishi | Boy | A man of high virtue | |
| Disung | Boy | A worthy and truthful person | |
| Diu | Girl | One who is down to Earth and a practical person | |
| Fa | Boy | A new beginning | |
| Fai | Boy | Beginning | |
| Fan | Boy | Short from Francis; A famous bearer | |
| Fang | Boy | A pen for sheep | |
| Feng | Boy | One who is like a phoenix; Maple | |
| Fu | Boy | Well-to-do; Prosperous | |
| Gang | Boy | Hard; Rigid; Strong | |
| Genji | Girl | Gold; Two beginnings | |
| Gho | Girl | A responsible and inspirational being | |
| Guang | Boy | Light | |
| Guo | Girl | The wall that surrounds a city | |
| Hao | Boy | Good; Perfect | |
| He | Unisex | The harmony and peace the river brings | |
| Hee | Girl | lotus | |
| Heng | Girl | Constant; Steady; Persistent | |
| Hien | Girl | Gentle; Nice; Quiet; Persevering | |
| Holea | Girl | Holy | |
| Holwell | Boy | Lives by the Holy Spring | |
| Hong | Boy | Rainbow; Enlarge; Wild Swan | |
| Hop | Girl | Agreeable; Consistent; A variant of hope | |
| Horacio | Boy | Timekeeper | |
| Hou | Boy | One who is a lord; A nobleman | |
| Hu | Boy | Tiger; Vigorous; A Nature God | |
| Hua | Unisex | Splendid; Flower; Blossom | |
| Huan | Girl | Fortunate; Happy; Pleased | |
| Huang | Boy | Bright yellow | |
| Hui | Unisex | Sharp; Quick; Clever | |
| Hyson | Boy | Flourishing spring; A name after an English tea merchant | |
| Jia | Unisex | Good; Auspicious; Beautiful | |
| Jia Li | Girl | Good and Beautiful | |
| Jian | Boy | Condition of being agreeable or upbeat | |
| Jiang | Boy | Flowing river; Determined and constant | |
| Jiao | Girl | Lovable teacher | |
| Jiao-long | Boy | Resembling a dragon; Scaled dragon | |
| Jie | Boy | One who is pure and chaste | |
| Jiei | Boy | A variation of Jie; Denotes a prominent and successful person | |
| Jig | Boy | Quick; A person with swift speed | |
| Jilpa | Girl | A person who gives life to other; A teacher of life. | |
| Jin | Boy | Gold | |
| Jing | Boy | Still; Crystal; Essence; Capital city | |
| Jing-sheng | Boy | Chinese; Born in the city or Beijing | |
| Jonah | Boy | Dove | |
| Jordell | Boy | Unique thinkers; Beekeepers | |
| Ju | Girl | Chrysanthemum ; Daisy flower | |
| Ju-long | Boy | Powerful and gigantic ; Strong and mighty like a dragon | |
| Juan | Boy | God is gracious; God is merciful; Yahweh is gracious | |
| Judaala | Boy | Thoughtful; Joyful | |
| Julissa | Girl | People with this name are sweet, absolute, and unique in personality. They are filled with energy and aim to please every person they meet. | |
| Jun | Boy | Pure; Clean; Truth; Talented; Handsome; Ruler; King | |
As one of the most populous nations in the world, China has a lot to offer when it comes to beautiful and thoughtful baby names. Shaped by their rich historical culture and philosophies, Chinese baby names are a fine balance of refinement and aspired human attributes combined with their reverence towards their ancestor. These names are coupled with modern influence and are vibrant examples of symbolic meanings, historical traditions, and the contemporary social fabric of Chinese society.
Infographic: Delightful Chinese Baby Names With Meanings
Chinese baby names are symbols of the country’s vibrant culture and long history. They often reflect vital virtues such as power, beauty, and wisdom. Western and traditional naming cultures have been combined in recent years, radiating a special fusion of tradition and modernity in their naming patterns. Go through the infographic below for some highly adored Chinese names for your baby. Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which are some classic Chinese names?
Modern Chinese names have a mono-symbolic surname. It is followed by a given name with two characters. Some classic names are Xiu, meaning elegant, Zihan, meaning child, Shi, meaning honest, and Tao, meaning large waves.
2. Which Chinese names mean beautiful and elegant?
Many sweet names in Chinese imply beauty and elegance. Fang, a girl's name, means beautiful. Mei also means beauty. Xiù means elegant and beautiful. Wan is another short name that implies grace.
3. Which Chinese names mean flower and rose?
Many pretty Chinese names symbolize flowers and roses. Li Mei is a Chinese name that means 'pretty rose.' Hua means 'flower,' while Lan means 'orchid flower. Sai also means 'a friend and a flower.'
4. Which Chinese names mean lucky?
There are not many names that mean lucky in Chinese. Jiayi, pronounced as CHYA-EE, means auspicious.' Wei Qi is a male name in Chinese that means 'very lucky.'
5. Which Chinese names mean love?
Many Chinese names are symbolic of love. For example, Aibing means love, Ài means love and affection, and Mei is another name that means love.
6. Which Chinese names mean moon and star?
Many names in China refer to celestial bodies. The popular Chinese name Yue means moon, Sying means star, and Mei xing means beautiful star. You can use them for little girls.
7. How do Chinese names differ from Western names?
Chinese names are different from Western ones as they start with the family name. It is followed by the given name. The family name consists of one syllable. When deciding the name of a child, you will often find that males of the same generation in a traditional family have the first character of their given names in common (1).
References:
- A basic guide to Chinese names.
https://www.asiamediacentre.org.nz/features/explainer-chinese-names/ - T. Leo Schmitt; (2019); The Practice of Mainland Chinese Students Adopting English Names and Its Motivations.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4210&context=gc_etds
Look Up For Many More Names
Do you have a name in mind and want to know more about it? Or want to find names belonging to a particular origin, religion, or having a specific meaning? Use our search tool below to explore more baby names with different combinations.
