Chinese Surnames
Chinese names are used in China and in Chinese communities throughout the world. Note that depending on the Chinese characters used these names can have many other meanings besides those listed here. See also about Chinese names.
90 surnames in our directory
Chinese
90Tan is a Chinese surname with multiple origins, most commonly rooted in Min Nan (Hokkien) romanization of Chen (陈), which means “exhibit, display, old, ancient” and refers to the ancient state of Chen, existing in prese...
Tang is a Chinese surname that derives from the character 唐 (táng), the name of the illustrious Tang dynasty, which ruled China from 618 to 907 CE. As one of the most common Chinese surnames, it ranks among the top 100...
Tang is a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surname Deng. This transliteration reflects the pronunciation in Cantonese, a variety of Chinese spoken primarily in Hong Kong, Macau, and southern China. The name is most...
Tong is a Cantonese romanization of several Chinese surnames, most prominently Tang 1, which originates from the Chinese character 唐 (táng) referring to the Tang dynasty, a golden age that ruled China from 618 to 907. T...
Tsang is a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surname Zeng. It is most commonly found in Hong Kong and among overseas Chinese communities from Cantonese-speaking regions. The surname originates from the Chinese charac...
Tse is a Chinese surname commonly encountered in Cantonese-speaking regions, representing the Cantonese romanization of the more widely recognized surname Xie. The source character is 謝 (or 谢 in simplified form), which...
Tso is a surname with two distinct origins: Chinese and Navajo. In Chinese usage, Tso is a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surname Cao (曹). In the Cantonese dialect of Chinese, '曹' is pronounced as about chòuh, w...
Tsui is a Chinese surname that represents a Cantonese romanization of two distinct Chinese surnames: Xu 1 and Cui (崔). The most common origin stories tie the surname to ancient states and fiefs, as detailed below. Etymo...
Wang (王) is a Chinese surname that is widespread across Greater China and the Chinese diaspora, being the most common surname in China and one of the most prevalent surnames in the world. The name literally means "king"...
Wang is a Chinese surname written as 汪 in Chinese characters, meaning "deep" in reference to bodies of water. This surname ranks among the more common ones in China, though it is distinct from the much more wi...
Wong is a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surname Wang, which means "king" or "monarch" (from the Chinese character 王). It is one of the most common surnames among Chinese diaspora communities, particularly in Hon...
Wong 2 is a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surname Huang. It is one of the most common surnames among Chinese diaspora communities, particularly in Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas Chinese communities where Cantones...
Wu is a common Chinese surname, originating from the ancient state of Wu (吳) that existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Jiangsu province. The state of Wu was a powerful kingdom with a distinct culture, and afte...
Wu 2 is a Chinese surname written as 武 (wǔ) in Chinese, from the element wǔ meaning "military, martial." This surname is one of several Chinese surnames romanized as 'Wu' but with distinct characters and etymologies. Th...
Wu 3 is a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surname Hu. In Mandarin, Hu is written as 胡, a character that originally referred to the barbarian tribes of northern China and later came to mean "beard" or "whiskers," a...
Xie is a Chinese surname that originates from the minor state of Xie, an ancient domain that existed in what is now Hubei province. The name is written with the Chinese character 谢 (xiè). Historically, the state of Xie...
Xu is a Chinese surname with deep historical roots. It originates from the Chinese character 徐 (xú), which means "slowly, calmly." According to traditional accounts, the surname refers to the ancient state of Xu, which...
Xu 2 (许) is a prominent Chinese surname with ancient origins linked to the minor state of Xu, which existed in what is now Henan province until its annexation in the 4th century BC. The Chinese character 许 meaning "all...
Ye is a surname of Chinese origin, romanized from the character 叶 (yè), which means "leaf".The character 叶 is a simplified form of the traditional character 葉, both of which are used as surnames in Chinese-speaking co...
Yeung is a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surname Yang. It is the most common way to render the surname in Hong Kong and among Cantonese-speaking communities. In standard Mandarin pinyin, the same surname is writt...
Yu 4 is a Chinese surname with deep historical roots, written as 虞 (yú) in Chinese characters. The character means "concerned, anxious", but its significance extends far beyond this literal meaning. It also refers to th...
Yu (于) is a Chinese surname with a rich historical origin. Derived from the character 于 (yú), meaning "in, on, at," the surname's etymology is deeply intertwined with ancient legend. According to tradition, King Wu of...
Yu 3 (俞) is a Chinese surname derived from the character 俞, which means "consent" or "approve" according to its yú element. It is one of the less common Chinese surnames, often romanized as Yu, Yü, or U. The character...
Yu 2 is a Chinese surname written as 余 (Yú) in simplified Chinese, meaning "surplus" or "abundance." The character 余 is composed of yú, which combines the radical for "man" (亻) and a phonetic component, and in classic...
Yuen is a Cantonese romanization of the Chinese surnames 袁 (Yuán) and 阮 (Ruǎn). As a surname, it is predominantly found among Cantonese-speaking communities in Hong Kong, Macau, and the Guangdong province of southern C...
Zeng (曾, pinyin: Zēng) is a Chinese surname that ranks as the 32nd most common surname in mainland China as of 2019 and the 16th most common in Taiwan. It originates from the ancient state of Zeng (鄫), which existed du...
Zhan is a Chinese surname, romanized from the Hanyu Pinyin form of the Mandarin pronunciation of the character 詹 (zhān), which carries the meanings of "verbose" or "excellent."Etymology and Historical RootsThe character...
Zhang (张) is one of the most common Chinese surnames, ranking among the top few in terms of population both in China and globally. The character 张 is composed of a bow (弓) and a long (长) component, and its original m...
Zhao ( traditional Chinese: 趙; simplified Chinese: 赵; pinyin: Zhào) is one of the most common Chinese surnames, ranking near the top of the Hundred Family Surnames list. The surname traces its origins to an ancient cit...
Zhu is a common Chinese surname, written as 朱 in Chinese characters. It originates from the ancient state of Zhu, which existed in what is now Shandong province. The character 朱 means "vermilion red" or "cinnabar," a c...