Most Popular Chinese Names (Trends in 2023 and Across the Decades)

Most Popular Chinese Namesby Decade

Names are always a mirror of the times.

From “build the country” to “grand sun, moon, stars”, popular Chinese names across the decades reflect China’s political and cultural transformations in a dramatic way.

Let’s take a look at the historical trends of Chinese names over the last 70+ years.

Top Chinese Namesin the 1950s

Rank	Male Names	Female Names
1	建国 (Jiànguó) – “build the country”	秀英 (Xiùyīng) – “elegance beauty”
2	建华 (Jiànhuá) – “build China”	桂英 (Guìyīng)- “laurel beauty”
3	国华 (Guóhuá) – “national glory”	秀兰 (Xiùlán) – “elegant orchid”
4	和平 (Hépíng) – “peace”	玉兰 (Yùlán) – “magnolia”
5	明 (Míng) – “brilliant”	桂兰 (Guìlán) – “laurel orchid”
6	建平 (Jiànpíng) – “build equality”	秀珍 (Xiùzhēn) – “elegance treasure”
7	军 (Jūn) – “army”	凤英 (Fèngyīng) – “phoenix beauty”
8	平 (Píng) – “equal”	玉珍 (Yùzhēn) – “jade treasure”
9	志明 (Zhìmíng) – “ambition brilliant”	玉英 (Yùyīng) – “jade beauty”
10	德明 Démíng – “virtue brilliant”	兰英 (Lányīng) – “orchid beauty”

1949年,毛主席宣布新中国成立the People’s Republic of China in Tian’anmen Square, setting in motion a chain of political and patriotic sentiments across the country. Tens of thousands of babies born in the 1950s were given a patriotic name such as 建国 (Jiànguó) – “build the country”, 建华 (Jiànhuá) – “build China” or 国华 (Guóhuá) – “national glory, or nation China” to represent parents’ collective hope for a prosperous country.

According to data from China’s National Citizen Identity Information Center, over 960,000 Chinese are currently registered with the name 建国 (Jiànguó), making it one of the most popular names throughout the history of China.

Some other popular Chinese names in the 1950s include 卫国 (Wèiguó) – “guard the country”, 保国 (Bǎoguó)- “protect the country”, 国强 (Guóqiáng) – “the country prospers”, 抗美 (Kàngměi) – “fight America”, and 援朝 (Yuáncháo) – “assist North Korea” to commemorate theKorean Warwhen China fought alongside North Korea against the South and the United States.

Top Chinese Names in the 1960s

Rank	Male Names	Female Names
1	军 (Jūn) – “army”	秀英 (Xiùyīng) – “elegance beauty”
2	勇 (Yǒng) – “brave”	桂英 (Guìyīng)- “laurel beauty”
3	伟 (Wěi) – “great”	英 (Yīng) – “brave beauty”
4	建国 (Jiànguó) – “build the country”	玉兰 (Yùlán) – “magnolia”
5	建华 (Jiànhuá) – “build China”	萍 (Píng) – “duckweed”
6	建军 (Jiànjūn) – “build the army”	秀兰 (Xiùlán) – “elegant orchid”
7	平 (Píng) – “equality”	玉梅 (Yùméi) – “jade plum blossom”
8	建平 (Jiànpíng) – “build equality”	红 (Hóng) – “red”
9	强 (Qiáng) – “strong”	丽 (Lì) – “beautiful”
10	斌 (Bīn) – “scholar & soldier”	敏 (Mǐn) – “agile”

In the 1960s, Chinese parents continued to adopt patriotic names to demonstrate their support for the country and the Communist Party.

For example, many children were named 军 (Jūn) – “army”, 勇 (Yǒng) – “brave”, and 建军 (Jiànjūn) – “build the army” to show determination to fight against the increasing U.S. aggression.

Then theCultural Revolution(1966-1976), a decade-long ideological movement swept China. A lot of babies were given names like 红 (Hóng) – “red”, referring to the Communist revolution, 红兵 (Hóngbīng) – “red soldier”, 卫红 (Wèihóng) – “guard the red”, or 卫东 (Wèidōng) – “guard Dong (Chairman Mao Zedong)” as a way of demonstrating political loyalty.

The influence of the Cultural Revolution was so enormous at the time that many people directly used the word 文革 (Wéngé) – meaning “Cultural Revolution” – as their child’s name.

Top Chinese Names in the 1970s

Rank	Male Names	Female Names
1	勇 (Yǒng) – “brave”	丽 (Lì) – “beautiful”
2	军 (Jūn) – “army”	艳 (Yàn) – “gorgeous”
3	伟 (Wěi) – “great”	敏 (Mǐn) – “agile”
4	强 (Qiáng) – “strong”	芳 (Fāng) – “fragrance”
5	刚 (Gāng) – “tenacious”	静 (Jìng) – “tranquil”
6	建军 (Jiànjūn) – “build the army”	霞 (Xiá) – “rosy clouds”
7	涛 (Tāo) – “large wave”	红梅 (Hóngméi) – “red plum blossom”
8	斌 (Bīn) – “scholar & soldier”	燕 (Yàn) – “swallow (bird)”
9	波 (Bō) – “wave”	红 (Hóng) – “red”
10	辉 (Huī) -”brightness”	英 (Yīng) – “brave beauty”

After the decade-long period of social chaos,Chinese peoplebecame much less political, longing for inner peace and simple life.

The propaganda-like names went out of fashion after the Communist Party loosened its grip on the economy and people’s lives in the late 1970s. Modern, concise single-character names speaking about traits or qualities became the new trend, for example, 强 (Qiáng) – “strong”, 刚 (Gāng) – “tenacious” for boys, or 艳 (Yàn) – “gorgeous”, 静 (Jìng) – “tranquil” for girls.

Top Chinese Names in the 1980s

Rank	Male Names	Female Names
1	伟 (Wěi) – “great”	静 (Jìng) – “tranquil”
2	磊 (Lěi) – “rocks”	丽 (Lì) – “beautiful”
3	勇 (Yǒng) – “brave”	娟 (Juān) – “beautiful”
4	涛 (Tāo) – “large wave”	艳 (Yàn) – “gorgeous”
5	超 (Chāo) – “surpass”	燕 (Yàn) – “swallows (birds)”
6	强 (Qiáng) – “strong”	敏 (Mǐn) – “agile”
7	鹏 (Péng) – “a legendary bird”	娜 (Nà) – “graceful”
8	军 (Jūn) – “army”	芳 (Fāng) – “fragrance”
9	波 (Bō) – “wave”	丹 (Dān) – “vermilion”
10	杰 (Jié) – “outstanding”	玲 (Líng) – “exquisite”

The implementation of theone-child policystarting in 1979 further spurred people to ditch the traditional Chinese naming pattern of generational name plus personal name – and instead use a brief one-character name for the only child of the family.

Until the middle of the 20th century, a traditional Chinese given name was composed of a generational name and a personal name, each represented by one character. The generational name marks the position of the bearer in the sequence of generations within a big family and is shared among one’s siblings.

For example, three children from the same family could be named:

王建国 WángJiànguó
王建华 WángJiànhuá
王建萍 WángJiànpíng
(建 Jiàn is their generational name)

Meanwhile, characters that ooze an elegant vibe became more popular. For instance, 玲 (Líng) – “exquisite”, 丹 (Dān) – “vermilion”, 娜 (Nà) – “graceful”.

Top Chinese Names in the 1990s

Rank	Male Names	Female Names
1	伟 (Wěi) – “great”	静 (Jìng) – “tranquil”
2	超 (chāo) – “surpass”	婷 (Tíng) – “graceful”
3	涛 (Tāo) – “large wave”	敏 (Mǐn) – “agile”
4	杰 (Jié) – “outstanding”	婷婷 (Tíngtíng) – “graceful”
5	鹏 (Péng) – “a legendary bird”	丹 (Dān) – “vermilion”
6	磊 (Lěi) – “rocks”	雪 (Xuě) – “snow”
7	强 (Qiáng) – “strong”	丽 (Lì) – “beautiful”
8	浩 (Hào) – “vast”	倩 (Qiàn) – “beauty”
9	鑫 (Xīn) – “prosperity”	艳 (Yàn) – “gorgeous”
10	帅 (Shuài) – “handsome”	娟 (Juān) – “beautiful”

For the second consecutive decade, 伟 (Wěi) – “great” and 静 (Jìng) – “tranquil” topped the list of the most popular Chinese names for boys and girls, respectively.

名字有两个字符(重复翻了一番the same character twice) also gained more popularity in the 1990s. These are usually reserved for girls and meant to double the cuteness. For instance, 婷婷 (Tíngtíng), which is essentially the diminutive of 婷 (Tíng) made it to the top four on the list.

Other popular names of this era with doubled characters include 丽丽 (Lìlì), 倩倩 (Qiànqiàn), 冰冰 (Bīngbīng), and so on.

Top Chinese Names in the 2000s

Rank	Male Names	Female Names
1	涛 (Tāo) – “large wave”	婷 (Tíng) – “graceful”
2	浩 (Hào) – “vast”	欣怡 (Xīnyí) – “joy”
3	杰 (Jié) – “outstanding”	婷婷 (Tíngtíng) – “graceful”
4	鑫 (Xīn) – “prosperity”	静 (Jìng) – “tranquil”
5	俊杰(俊杰)——“杰出人才”	悦 (Yuè) – “joy”
6	磊 (Lěi) – “rocks”	敏 (Mǐn) – “agile”
7	帅 (Shuài) – “handsome”	佳怡 (Jiāyí) – “pleasant joy”
8	宇 (Yǔ) – “universe”	雪 (Xuě) – “snow”
9	浩然 (Hàorán) – “vastness”	颖 (Yǐng) – “clever”
10	鹏 (Péng) – “a legendary bird”	雨欣 (Yǔxīn) – “rain joy”

The pool of Chinese names became more varied in the 21 century. Double-character names gained traction again with five names cracking the top 20 list.

Pop culture started to influence baby-naming in China for the first time in the 2000s. For example, after the Singaporean singerJJ Lin(Chinese: 林俊杰 Lín Jùnjié) made his name in 2003, a lot of baby boys were named as 俊杰 (Jùnjié) after the pop icon.

Western-sounding names also emerged as China increased interaction with the outside world. For example, 艾伦 (Àilún), 安娜 (Ānnà), 丽莎 (Lìshā), which are the Chinese transliterations of Allen, Anna, Lisa.

Top Chinese Names in the 2010s

Rank	Male Names	Female Names
1	浩宇 (Hàoyǔ) – “vast universe”	欣怡 (Xīnyí) – “joy”
2	浩然 (Hàorán) – “vastness”	梓涵 (Zǐhán) – “ catalpa tree mellow”
3	宇轩 (Yǔxuān) – “universe high”	诗涵 (Shīhán) – “poetic mellow”
4	子轩 (Zǐxuān) – “refined high”	梓萱 (Zǐhán) – “ catalpa tree & tawny day-lily”
5	宇航 (Yǔháng) -”universe cruise”	子涵 (Zǐhán) – “refined mellow”
6	皓轩 (Hàoxuān) – “bright high”	紫涵 (Zǐhán) – “purple mellow”
7	子豪 (Zǐháo) – “refined heroic”	佳怡 (Jiāyí) – “pleasant joy”
8	浩轩 (Hàoxuān) – “vast high”	雨涵 (Yǔhán) – “rain mellow”
9	俊杰(俊杰)——“杰出人才”	雨欣 (Yǔxīn) – “rain joy”
10	子涵 (Zǐhán) – “refined mellow”	一诺 (Yīnuò) – “one promise”

In the 2010s, the majority of newborn babies in China were given double-character given names to avoid name duplication.

The most popular boy names included 浩宇 (Hàoyǔ) – “vast universe” and 浩然 (Hàorán) – “vastness”, both of which denoting ambition and might.

As for girls, the favorite names lurking at the top were 欣怡 (Xīnyí) – “joy” and 梓涵 (Zǐhán) – “ catalpa tree mellow”, reflecting a pleasant personality.

Unisex or gender-neutral Chinese names also became more popular in this decade. For instance, 子涵 (Zǐhán) – a name composed of two gender-fluid characters 子 (zǐ) and 涵 (hán) rose to the 5th place for girl names and the 10th place for boy names.