Learn all about Chinese Names

We’ll be honest with you—one of the questions we get asked the most on ChineseClass101 is on — yes, you guessed it — names. The most frequently asked questions include:

• “How do you write an English name in Chinese?”
• “Is it possible to make a nickname up and ask native Chinese speakers to use it?”
• “Are there any Chinese names that sound like English names?”

For those who want to have their name in Chinese, we have made it simple for you to write your name today. Yes, today! This post is your one-stop guide regarding Chinese names!
 

1. How to Write Your Name in Chinese
2. How to Make Up Your Chinese Nickname
   • Chinese First Names
     • Female Names
     • Male Names
   • Chinese Last Names
3. Related Lessons

Or, you can take out the sound of Chinese characters and make your Chinese name that sounds similar to your English name.

For example, if your name is “Daniel,” you can break it down into three syllable. Da, Ni, El. Then, find a Chinese character that sounds similar to each syllabe. 丹 (Dā,) 尼 (ní’,) and 尔 (ěr.) Lastly, place them together as in 丹尼尔 (Dānní’ěr) for “Daniel.”

Here are some English names in Chinese characters.

• Noah (诺亚 Nuò yǎ)
• Jacob (雅各 yǎ gè)
• Michael (迈克尔 màikè’ěr)
• Daniel (丹尼尔 dānní’ěr)
• Sandra (桑德拉 sāng dé lā)
• George (乔治 qiáozhì)
• Thomas (托马斯 tuōmǎsī)
• Kimberly (金佰利 jīnbǎilì)

If you cannot find your name on this list or want to make your name in Chinese characters by yourself, here’s our audio series for you. Check out Introduction to Chinese Pronunciation and learn the basic Chinese characters and their pronunciation. This will help you learn basic Chinese characters and start writing your name in Chinese by yourself!