100 Most Common Chinese Surnames with Meanings

China has about 6,000 surnames still in use, but they are remarkably concentrated: the top 100 family names cover roughly 85% of the population, and the top three alone — Wáng, Lǐ and Zhāng — are shared by over 270 million people. That's why a single classroom in Beijing might hold three students named Wáng and two named Lǐ. This list ranks the 100 most common Chinese surnames with their characters, pinyin, and the meaning or origin behind each one.

Reading the names: Chinese surnames come first, before the given name. Many are everyday words — a tree, a color, an ancient kingdom — whose literal meaning is rarely thought about in daily life, much like "Smith" or "Baker" in English. Rankings are approximate and based on mainland China population data.
Chinese surnames come first · 0:23 Narration and Chinese audio are synthesized speech (Microsoft Azure neural voices). More short Chinese lesson videos
Transcript
  1. In a Chinese name, which part is the surname?
  2. Take this name.
  3. 王伟 (Wáng Wěi)
  4. The surname always comes first.
  5. 王 (Wáng)
  6. The given name follows it.
  7. 伟 (Wěi)
  8. People often reverse the order when they use an English name.
  9. Surname first, given name second.

Surname first, given name second.

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The Top 10 Chinese Surnames

These ten surnames alone are shared by well over half a billion people. Throughout this page, every surname character links to its full dictionary entry — pronunciation, stroke order and example words — wherever our dictionary holds one.

Seen one of these on a form, a shop sign or a name card and cannot type it? Draw it stroke by stroke in the handwriting lookup — it matches what you drew against 3,616 characters, entirely in your browser, with no sign-in and no limit on how many you look up.

#SurnamePinyinMeaning / OriginApprox. bearers
1 王 Wáng King — from royal descendants ~93 million
2 李 Lǐ Plum (tree); clan of the Tang emperors ~93 million
3 张 Zhāng To draw a bow — an archer's name ~90 million
4 刘 Liú Battle-axe (archaic); clan of the Han emperors ~70 million
5 陈 Chén To display / arrange; the ancient state of Chen ~60 million
6 杨 Yáng Poplar / willow tree ~46 million
7 黄 Huáng Yellow; the ancient Huang state ~33 million
8 赵 Zhào The state of Zhao — first name in the 百家姓 ~28 million
9 吴 Wú The ancient state of Wu ~27 million
10 周 Zhōu The Zhou dynasty; "complete, all-around" ~26 million

Surnames 11–30

#SurnamePinyinMeaning / Origin
11 徐 Xú Slow, calm; the ancient Xu state
12 孙 Sūn Grandson, descendant
13 马 Mǎ Horse
14 朱 Zhū Vermilion red; clan of the Ming emperors
15 胡 Hú Beard; also referred to northern peoples
16 郭 Guō Outer city wall
17 何 Hé To carry; a branch of the Han royal line
18 高 Gāo Tall, high
19 林 Lín Forest, woods
20 罗 Luó A net for catching birds; the Luo state
21 郑 Zhèng Solemn, serious; the state of Zheng
22 梁 Liáng Roof beam, bridge; the Liang state
23 谢 Xiè To thank
24 宋 Sòng The Song dynasty and ancient state
25 唐 Táng The Tang dynasty; "grand, boastful"
26 许 Xǔ To permit, promise; the Xu state
27 韩 Hán The ancient state of Han
28 冯 Féng To gallop (archaic)
29 邓 Dèng The ancient Deng state
30 曹 Cáo A company / group; clan of warlord Cao Cao

Surnames 31–50

#SurnamePinyinMeaning / Origin
31 彭 Péng The sound of beating drums
32 曾 Zēng "Great-" (as in great-grandparent); the Zeng clan
33 肖 Xiāo To resemble; a variant of 萧 Xiāo
34 田 Tián Field, farmland
35 董 Dǒng To oversee, direct
36 袁 Yuán A long flowing robe (archaic)
37 潘 Pān Water used to wash rice
38 于 Yú In, at; from the Yu state
39 蒋 Jiǎng A kind of water reed; the Jiang state
40 蔡 Cài The ancient state of Cai; "great tortoise"
41 余 Yú Surplus, remaining
42 杜 Dù Birchleaf pear tree; "to shut out"
43 叶 Yè Leaf
44 程 Chéng Procedure; a measured journey
45 苏 Sū To revive; the perilla herb
46 魏 Wèi Towering, lofty; the state/dynasty of Wei
47 吕 Lǚ A musical pitch-pipe; the Lü state
48 丁 Dīng An able-bodied man; the fourth Heavenly Stem
49 任 Rén Responsibility; to appoint
50 沈 Shěn To sink; the ancient Shen state

Surnames 51–75

#SurnamePinyinMeaning / Origin
51 姚 Yáo Beautiful, graceful; clan of Emperor Shun
52 卢 Lú Black; from the Lu place name
53 傅 Fù A tutor; to assist
54 钟 Zhōng Bell
55 姜 Jiāng Ginger; clan of the strategist Jiang Ziya
56 崔 Cuī High and steep (of a mountain)
57 谭 Tán To talk; the ancient Tan state
58 廖 Liào Vast, empty
59 范 Fàn Model, pattern
60 汪 Wāng A vast expanse of water
61 陆 Lù Land, dry ground
62 金 Jīn Gold; metal
63 石 Shí Stone
64 戴 Dài To wear on the head; to honor
65 贾 Jiǎ A merchant; to trade
66 韦 Wéi Tanned leather
67 夏 Xià Summer; the Xia dynasty
68 邱 Qiū A mound or hill
69 方 Fāng Square; direction; method
70 侯 Hóu A marquis (rank of nobility)
71 邹 Zōu The ancient state of Zou
72 熊 Xióng Bear
73 孟 Mèng Eldest child; clan of the sage Mencius (孟子)
74 秦 Qín The Qin dynasty and ancient state
75 白 Bái White

Surnames 76–100

#SurnamePinyinMeaning / Origin
76 江 Jiāng River (especially the Yangtze)
77 阎 Yán A village gate
78 薛 Xuē The ancient state of Xue
79 尹 Yǐn To govern; an ancient official title
80 段 Duàn A section or segment
81 雷 Léi Thunder
82 黎 Lí The multitude (common people); dark
83 史 Shǐ History; the office of court historian
84 龙 Lóng Dragon
85 贺 Hè To congratulate
86 陶 Táo Pottery; to mould
87 顾 Gù To care for; to consider
88 毛 Máo Hair, fur, feather
89 郝 Hǎo From an ancient place name
90 龚 Gōng To respectfully offer
91 邵 Shào From an ancient place name
92 万 Wàn Ten thousand; a myriad
93 钱 Qián Money, coin — second name in the 百家姓
94 严 Yán Strict, stern
95 赖 Lài To rely on
96 覃 Qín Deep, profound
97 洪 Hóng A flood; vast
98 武 Wǔ Martial, military; clan of Empress Wu Zetian
99 莫 Mò Do not; none
100 孔 Kǒng An opening; clan of Confucius (孔子)

Bonus: Compound Surnames (复姓 fùxìng)

A handful of Chinese surnames use two characters. They are rare — less than 1% of the population — but instantly recognizable, often with aristocratic or scholarly roots.

SurnamePinyinMeaning / Origin
欧阳 Ōuyáng "South of Ou Mountain" — the most common compound surname
司马 Sīmǎ "Master of horses" — an ancient military office
上官 Shàngguān "High official"
诸葛 Zhūgě Place-based name; of strategist Zhuge Liang
东方 Dōngfāng "Eastern direction"
慕容 Mùróng Clan name of a Xianbei royal house

Can you tell where a family name ends? Try the short challenge below before the answer appears.

欧阳: one-character surname or two? Chinese compound surnames · 0:37 Narration and Chinese audio are synthesized speech (Microsoft Azure neural voices). More short Chinese lesson videos
Transcript
  1. Is this surname one character, or two?
  2. 欧阳 (Ōuyáng)
  3. 欧阳 (Ōuyáng)
  4. Two. Both characters are the family name.
  5. It's called a compound surname.
  6. 复姓 (fùxìng)
  7. 复姓 (fùxìng)
  8. They're rare, most family names are one character, like this one.
  9. 王伟 (Wáng Wěi)
  10. 王伟 (Wáng Wěi)
  11. Here the family name is just the first character.
  12. Your turn, one character or two?
  13. 司马 (Sīmǎ)
  14. 司马 (Sīmǎ)
  15. Two. Another compound surname.
  16. A Chinese surname can be two characters long.
  17. Can't type a surname? Draw it, free, at The Pure Language dot com.

A Chinese surname can be two characters long.

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Look up any surname: Paste a character into our free Chinese translation tool to hear its pronunciation and confirm the pinyin and meaning, or use the Pinyin Chart to perfect the tones.

Frequently Asked Questions

王 Wáng (meaning "king") is the most common surname in mainland China, shared by roughly 93 million people, narrowly ahead of 李 Lǐ ("plum"). Both are among the most common surnames in the entire world.

There are about 6,000 surnames still in use in China, but they are highly concentrated: the top 100 surnames cover roughly 85% of the population, and the top 3 alone — Wáng, Lǐ and Zhāng — account for over 270 million people. The classic "Hundred Family Surnames" (百家姓 Bǎijiāxìng) text lists the best-known ones.

The surname (family name) always comes first in Chinese, followed by the given name. So in 王伟 (Wáng Wěi), 王 Wáng is the family name and 伟 Wěi is the given name. People often reverse the order to Western style when using an English name. See how Chinese names work for the full picture.

Most Chinese surnames are ordinary words whose original meaning is rarely thought about in daily use. They come from many sources: nature (林 "forest", 江 "river"), ancient states and dynasties (陈, 宋, 唐), noble titles and offices (侯 "marquis", 史 "court historian"), and the names of legendary ancestors.

A compound surname (复姓 fùxìng) is a family name made of two characters, such as 欧阳 Ōuyáng or 司马 Sīmǎ. They are rare — less than 1% of the population — and often have aristocratic or historical roots.

Keep reading about Chinese names

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