Chinese Last Names: The 100 Most Common Surnames & Their Meanings

Chinese last names: the 100 most common surnames

The 100 most common Chinese surnames, ranked by population — each with its characters, pinyin, meaning, and origin, plus audio. Wang, Li, and Zhang alone cover more than a fifth of China. Learn how Chinese names work: surname first, given name second.

Ranked by population, each with pinyin, meaning, origin, and audio. Looking for a name of your own? Try the Chinese name generator →

Family name first, and usually just one character

A Chinese name is built the opposite way round from a Western one: the family name comes first, the given name second. In 王小明 (Wáng Xiǎomíng), 王 Wáng is the surname and 小明 Xiǎomíng is the given name. The surname is nearly always a single character; the given name is one or two.

A small number of names cover an enormous share of people. The word for ordinary folk is literally 老百姓 (lǎobǎixìng) — “the old hundred surnames” — after 百家姓, the Song-dynasty primer children once memorized to learn characters. It was barely an exaggeration: Wang, Li, and Zhang together account for more than a fifth of the country, and the hundred names below cover around 85% of the Han Chinese population.

Most surnames began as something concrete — an ancient state (陈, Chen), a noble title (侯, “marquis”), a place, a profession, or the plain meaning of the character (林, “forest”). Knowing that origin is a quiet shortcut into a few hundred of the most useful characters in the language.

The surnames you'll meet first

These twenty are worth knowing on sight — between them they name over half of China. Tap any character to hear it.

王

Wáng

#1 · ≈7.3%

Literally “king” (wáng). It grew from the many royal and noble houses whose descendants, after losing power, were still known as “the king's people.” Roughly one in fourteen people in China is a Wang — about 100 million in all.

李

Lǐ

#2 · ≈7.2%

The imperial surname of the Tang dynasty and the family name of Laozi (Li Er), founder of Daoism. Neck-and-neck with Wang for the most common surname in China, and the single most common surname in the world.

张

Zhāng

trad. 張

#3 · ≈6.8%

The clan traces itself to a legendary maker of the bow and arrow, and the character still carries a bow (弓) inside it. With Wang and Li, one of the three names that together cover more than a fifth of the country.

刘

Liú

trad. 劉

#4 · ≈5.4%

The family name of Liu Bang, founder of the Han dynasty — the dynasty that gave the Han Chinese majority its name — which is why the surname and Chinese identity are historically entwined.

陈

Chén

trad. 陳

#5 · ≈4.5%

Descended from the state of Chen in what is now Henan. It is the dominant surname across southern China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and much of the overseas Chinese world.

杨

Yáng

trad. 楊

#6 · ≈3.1%

Named for the state of Yang and the poplar tree, and later the imperial surname of the short-lived but pivotal Sui dynasty, which reunified China in 581.

黄

Huáng

trad. 黃

#7 · ≈2.3%

From the small state of Huang, absorbed by Chu in 648 BC. Especially common in the south — Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi — and correspondingly common among the Chinese diaspora.

赵

Zhào

trad. 趙

#8 · ≈2.1%

Placed first in the famous Song-dynasty primer 百家姓 (“Hundred Family Surnames”) — not because it was the most common, but because Zhao was the surname of the reigning Song emperors.

吴

Wú

trad. 吳

#9 · ≈2.0%

One of the oldest surnames, tied to the Zhou royal house through Wu Taibo, who ceded his claim to the throne and founded the state of Wu in the lower Yangtze.

周

Zhōu

#10 · ≈2.0%

Carries the name of the Zhou (1046–256 BC), the longest-lived dynasty in Chinese history and the age of Confucius, Laozi, and the classical philosophers.

徐

Xú

trad. 徐

#11

From the state of Xu in eastern China, one of the surnames whose bearers spread early and widely down the coast.

孙

Sūn

trad. 孫

#12

Borne by the strategist Sun Tzu (Sun Wu), author of The Art of War, and by Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China.

马

Mǎ

trad. 馬

#13

Especially common among the Hui and other Chinese Muslims, for whom it often renders the first syllable of “Muhammad” — one of the clearest cases of a surname carrying a community's history.

朱

Zhū

#14

The imperial surname of the Ming dynasty, founded by the peasant-turned-emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. The character names the deep red long reserved for the powerful.

胡

Hú

#15

Borne by the reformer and writer Hu Shih, a leader of the New Culture Movement, and by the former paramount leader Hu Jintao.

郭

Guō

#16

Originally marked families who lived by the outer wall (郭) of a walled town — a surname born from an address.

何

Hé

#17

Arose when descendants of the state of Han, scattered after its fall, softened the sound of 韩 (Hán) into 何 (Hé) — a surname created by a slip of pronunciation.

高

Gāo

#18

An ancient surname long associated with nobility and high office — fittingly, given its meaning.

林

Lín

#19

Very common in Fujian and Taiwan and among overseas Chinese. Two 木 (“tree”) make a 林 (“forest”) — one of the most transparent surnames to read.

罗

Luó

trad. 羅

#20

From the ancient state of Luo. The character's older sense is a bird-net, later also the light silk gauze called 罗.

All 100 surnames, ranked

The complete list by population, with the meaning or origin of each.

#	Surname	Pinyin	Meaning & origin
1	王	Wáng	“king” — literally the character for a monarch.
2	李	Lǐ	“plum” (the plum tree and its fruit).
3	张	Zhāng	“to draw a bow, to stretch” — the character contains 弓, “bow.”
4	刘	Liú	an old word for a battle-axe; the imperial surname of the Han.
5	陈	Chén	“to arrange, to display”; from the ancient state of Chen.
6	杨	Yáng	“poplar / willow,” the yang tree; from the state of Yang.
7	黄	Huáng	“yellow”; from the ancient state of Huang.
8	赵	Zhào	from the state of Zhao, one of the Warring States.
9	吴	Wú	from the state of Wu, in the Yangtze delta.
10	周	Zhōu	“complete, all-around”; the name of the Zhou dynasty.
11	徐	Xú	“slowly, unhurried, calm”; from the ancient state of Xu.
12	孙	Sūn	“grandson, descendant.”
13	马	Mǎ	“horse.”
14	朱	Zhū	“vermillion, cinnabar red.”
15	胡	Hú	an old word for the northern peoples; also a state name.
16	郭	Guō	“the outer wall of a city.”
17	何	Hé	“what; to carry”; a phonetic offshoot of 韩 Hán.
18	高	Gāo	“tall, high, lofty.”
19	林	Lín	“forest, woods.”
20	罗	Luó	“a net for catching birds; fine silk gauze”; from the state of Luo.
21	郑	Zhèng	“solemn, serious”; from the state of Zheng.
22	梁	Liáng	“a roof beam, a bridge”; from the state of Liang.
23	谢	Xiè	“to thank; to decline”; from the state of Xie.
24	宋	Sòng	from the state of Song, and later the Song dynasty.
25	唐	Táng	the name of the Tang dynasty; from the ancient state of Tang.
26	许	Xǔ	“to allow, to promise”; from the state of Xu.
27	韩	Hán	from the state of Han, one of the Warring States.
28	冯	Féng	an old word for galloping; an early fief name.
29	邓	Dèng	from the ancient state of Deng.
30	曹	Cáo	from the state of Cao; borne by the warlord-poet Cao Cao.
31	彭	Péng	the boom of a drum; from Peng Zu, a fabled long-lived ancestor.
32	曾	Zēng	“great-(grand)”; from the state of Zeng — read Zēng, not céng.
33	肖	Xiāo	“to resemble”; a simplified form of the surname 萧 Xiāo.
34	田	Tián	“field, farmland.”
35	董	Dǒng	“to oversee, to direct.”
36	袁	Yuán	an old word for a long robe; an early clan name.
37	潘	Pān	the water rice is washed in; from a fief in the state of Bi.
38	于	Yú	“in, at”; from the state of Yu.
39	蒋	Jiǎng	from the state of Jiang; borne by Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi).
40	蔡	Cài	from the state of Cai.
41	余	Yú	“surplus, that which remains.”
42	杜	Dù	the birchleaf pear tree; borne by the poet Du Fu.
43	叶	Yè	“leaf”; from a fief called Ye.
44	程	Chéng	“a rule, a procedure, a journey.”
45	苏	Sū	“to revive”; the perilla herb; borne by the poet Su Shi.
46	魏	Wèi	from the state of Wei, and a Three Kingdoms dynasty.
47	吕	Lǚ	from the state of Lü; note the ü — Lǚ.
48	丁	Dīng	“an adult male”; the fourth of the ten heavenly stems.
49	任	Rén	“to appoint, to bear”; an ancient surname — read Rén, not rèn.
50	沈	Shěn	from the state of Shen; also the old form of “to sink.”
51	姚	Yáo	an ancient surname traced back to the sage-king Shun.
52	卢	Lú	an old black-glazed rice vessel; from a fief called Lu.
53	姜	Jiāng	“ginger”; one of the oldest surnames, tied to the Yan Emperor.
54	崔	Cuī	“high and towering”; from a fief in the state of Qi.
55	钟	Zhōng	“a bell; to concentrate.”
56	谭	Tán	from the ancient state of Tan.
57	陆	Lù	“land, dry ground.”
58	汪	Wāng	“a pool of water; vast and deep.”
59	范	Fàn	“a model, a pattern”; from a fief called Fan.
60	金	Jīn	“gold, metal.”
61	石	Shí	“stone.”
62	廖	Liào	an early fief and state name.
63	贾	Jiǎ	“a merchant”; from a fief called Jia — read Jiǎ, not jià.
64	夏	Xià	“summer”; the name of the Xia, China's first dynasty.
65	韦	Wéi	“tanned leather”; common among the Zhuang of Guangxi.
66	傅	Fù	“a tutor, to assist”; from the sage minister Fu Yue.
67	方	Fāng	“square; a direction; upright.”
68	白	Bái	“white”; borne by the poet Bai Juyi.
69	邹	Zōu	from the state of Zou, near the home of Mencius.
70	孟	Mèng	“eldest, first-born”; borne by the philosopher Mencius (Mengzi).
71	熊	Xióng	“bear”; a royal surname of the ancient state of Chu.
72	秦	Qín	from the state of Qin, which unified China — the root of “China.”
73	邱	Qiū	“a hill, a mound”; a variant of 丘.
74	江	Jiāng	“a river”; the classical name of the Yangtze.
75	尹	Yǐn	“to govern”; an ancient official title.
76	薛	Xuē	from the ancient state of Xue.
77	闫	Yán	a variant of 阎; from a fief called Yan.
78	段	Duàn	“a section, a stretch.”
79	雷	Léi	“thunder.”
80	侯	Hóu	“a marquis,” a rank of nobility — read Hóu.
81	龙	Lóng	“dragon.”
82	史	Shǐ	“history”; the office of court scribe.
83	陶	Táo	“pottery, to mould”; borne by the poet Tao Yuanming.
84	黎	Lí	“multitude,” as in 黎民, “the common people.”
85	贺	Hè	“to congratulate.”
86	顾	Gù	“to look back, to care for.”
87	毛	Máo	“hair, fur”; borne by Mao Zedong.
88	郝	Hǎo	an ancient place name.
89	龚	Gōng	“to present respectfully”; a variant of 恭.
90	邵	Shào	from a fief called Shao.
91	万	Wàn	“ten thousand, a myriad” — read Wàn.
92	钱	Qián	“money, coin”; placed second in the 百家姓.
93	严	Yán	“strict, stern”; a taboo-avoidance change from 庄 Zhuāng.
94	覃	Qín	common in the south and among the Zhuang — surname reading Qín.
95	武	Wǔ	“martial, military”; borne by Empress Wu Zetian.
96	戴	Dài	“to wear on the head; to honour.”
97	莫	Mò	“none, do not”; from a place name.
98	孔	Kǒng	“an opening”; borne by Confucius (Kong Fuzi).
99	向	Xiàng	“toward, a direction.”
100	汤	Tāng	“hot water, broth”; borne by Tang, founder of the Shang — read Tāng.

Questions about Chinese surnames

What are the most common Chinese last names?

The five most common are Wang (王), Li (李), Zhang (张), Liu (刘), and Chen (陈). Wang and Li each belong to close to 100 million people, and the top three — Wang, Li, and Zhang — together account for more than a fifth of everyone in China.

Does the surname come first in a Chinese name?

Yes. A Chinese name is written surname first, given name second — so in 王小明 (Wáng Xiǎomíng), Wang is the family name and Xiaoming is the given name. The surname is almost always a single character; the given name is one or two.

What does 老百姓 (lǎobǎixìng) mean?

老百姓 literally means “the old hundred surnames,” and it's the everyday word for ordinary people — the general public. It comes from 百家姓, the “Hundred Family Surnames,” a Song-dynasty primer that schoolchildren memorized to learn characters. A handful of surnames really did cover most of the population, so “the hundred surnames” became shorthand for everybody.

Why are Wang, Li, and Zhang so common?

All three are ancient, and all three spread from powerful early sources: Wang grew from the many royal and noble houses whose descendants were “the king's people,” Li was the ruling house of the Tang dynasty, and Zhang traces to a legendary maker of the bow and arrow. Centuries of population growth from a large early base did the rest.

Do Chinese women change their surname when they marry?

Traditionally no — a woman keeps her own family name for life, and this is still the norm in mainland China. Children usually take the father's surname, though taking the mother's is increasingly common.

How many Chinese surnames are there in total?

Several thousand are still in use, and historical records list far more. But they are very unevenly distributed: the 100 names on this page cover roughly 85% of the Han Chinese population, and the top 20 alone cover more than half.

Family name first, and usually just one character

The surnames you'll meet first

All 100 surnames, ranked

Questions about Chinese surnames

Want a Chinese name of your own?