Chinese Last Names
China has used hereditary surnames for over 2,000 years, and a remarkable number of people share just a few of them. Many surnames began as the names of ancient states or fiefs (Zhao, Chen, Song), official titles (Sima, “master of horses”) or everyday things (Lin, “forest”; Shi, “stone”). In Chinese the surname always comes first: in Li Bai, Li is the family name.
Below are more than 95 Chinese last names with their characters and origins, including two-character compound surnames and the Cantonese and Hokkien spellings you’ll see across Southeast Asia and the US. Pair them with Chinese girl names or Chinese boy names, or head back to Chinese names.
The 20 most common Chinese surnames
According to China’s household registration data, these surnames together cover roughly half of the population. Wang, Li and Zhang each belong to around 90–100 million people.
| Surname | Character | Meaning / origin |
|---|---|---|
| Wang | 王 | King |
| Li | 李 | Plum tree; surname of the Tang emperors |
| Zhang | 张 | To draw a bow; said to descend from the inventor of the bow |
| Liu | 刘 | Imperial family of the Han dynasty |
| Chen | 陈 | To display, arrange; the ancient state of Chen |
| Yang | 杨 | Poplar tree |
| Huang | 黄 | Yellow; the ancient state of Huang |
| Zhao | 赵 | The ancient state of Zhao; first name in the Hundred Family Surnames |
| Wu | 吴 | The ancient state of Wu |
| Zhou | 周 | The Zhou dynasty; “all around, complete” |
| Xu | 徐 | Slow, calm; the ancient state of Xu |
| Sun | 孙 | Grandson, descendant |
| Ma | 马 | Horse |
| Zhu | 朱 | Vermilion red; surname of the Ming emperors |
| Hu | 胡 | From Duke Hu of Chen; the character also means “beard” |
| Guo | 郭 | Outer city wall |
| He | 何 | From a branch of the Han clan; the character means “what” |
| Gao | 高 | High, tall |
| Lin | 林 | Forest |
| Luo | 罗 | Bird net; the ancient state of Luo |
More common Chinese surnames
These surnames round out the top 40 or so in China. Several, like Song and Tang, share their names with famous dynasties.
| Surname | Character | Meaning / origin |
|---|---|---|
| Zheng | 郑 | The ancient state of Zheng |
| Liang | 梁 | Roof beam; the state of Liang |
| Xie | 谢 | To thank |
| Song | 宋 | The state and dynasty of Song |
| Tang | 唐 | The Tang dynasty |
| Han | 韩 | The ancient state of Han |
| Feng | 冯 | To gallop (archaic) |
| Deng | 邓 | The ancient state of Deng |
| Peng | 彭 | The ancient state of Dapeng |
| Zeng | 曾 | Surname of Zengzi, a disciple of Confucius |
| Xiao | 萧 | Mugwort, an aromatic plant |
| Tian | 田 | Field |
| Dong | 董 | To supervise, direct |
| Yuan | 袁 | Long robe |
| Cai | 蔡 | The ancient state of Cai |
| Pan | 潘 | Water used to rinse rice |
| Du | 杜 | Birchleaf pear tree; surname of the poet Du Fu |
| Su | 苏 | To revive; the perilla plant |
| Lu | 卢 | From the fief of Lu in Shandong |
Chinese surnames with vivid meanings
Some surnames have beautifully concrete meanings — handy if you’re naming a character or looking for a surname with a story. See also cool last names.
| Surname | Character | Meaning / origin |
|---|---|---|
| Shi | 石 | Stone |
| Bai | 白 | White |
| Jin | 金 | Gold (the same character as Korean Kim) |
| Niu | 牛 | Ox |
| Long | 龙 | Dragon |
| Mei | 梅 | Plum blossom |
| Ye | 叶 | Leaf |
| Lan | 蓝 | Blue, indigo |
| Qian | 钱 | Money, coin |
| Tao | 陶 | Pottery |
| Gu | 谷 | Valley, grain |
| Hong | 洪 | Flood; vast |
| Yun | 云 | Cloud |
| Hua | 华 | Splendid; China |
Surnames of famous thinkers and rulers
Philosophers, emperors and generals made these surnames famous across East Asia. Pair them with our king names.
| Surname | Character | Famous bearer |
|---|---|---|
| Kong | 孔 | Confucius (Kong Qiu), whose descendants still keep a family register |
| Meng | 孟 | Mencius (Meng Ke), Confucian philosopher |
| Cao | 曹 | Cao Cao, warlord of the Three Kingdoms |
| Jiang | 蒋 | Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) |
| Wei | 魏 | The Wei state and dynasty |
| Lü | 吕 | Empress Lü of the Han dynasty |
| Qin | 秦 | The Qin dynasty that first unified China |
| Mao | 毛 | Mao Zedong |
| Zhuang | 庄 | Zhuangzi, Daoist philosopher |
| Mo | 墨 | Mozi, philosopher (the character means “ink”) |
| Yue | 岳 | Yue Fei, celebrated Song dynasty general |
Rare two-character (compound) surnames
Fewer than 1% of Chinese people have compound surnames, which often come from ancient official titles or non-Han clans. They feel distinguished — and often appear in martial-arts novels.
| Surname | Character | Meaning / origin |
|---|---|---|
| Ouyang | 欧阳 | South of Mount Ou |
| Sima | 司马 | Master of horses (a military office) |
| Zhuge | 诸葛 | Family of the strategist Zhuge Liang |
| Shangguan | 上官 | Senior official |
| Situ | 司徒 | Minister over the people |
| Dongfang | 东方 | The east |
| Huangfu | 皇甫 | August father |
| Murong | 慕容 | Clan of the Xianbei people |
| Xiahou | 夏侯 | Marquis of Xia |
| Gongsun | 公孙 | Grandson of a duke |
| Linghu | 令狐 | From the place Linghu |
| Duanmu | 端木 | Upright wood; Duanmu Ci was a disciple of Confucius |
Cantonese, Hokkien and Taiwanese spellings
Many Chinese families outside mainland China use older or dialect romanizations, so one surname can have several English spellings. Similar patterns show up in Vietnamese last names and Korean last names.
| Spelling | Character | Mandarin pinyin · dialect |
|---|---|---|
| Chan | 陈 | Chen · Cantonese |
| Wong | 黄 or 王 | Huang or Wang · Cantonese |
| Leung | 梁 | Liang · Cantonese |
| Cheung | 张 | Zhang · Cantonese |
| Lau | 刘 | Liu · Cantonese |
| Ng | 吴 or 伍 | Wu · Cantonese |
| Ho | 何 | He · Cantonese |
| Lam | 林 | Lin · Cantonese |
| Tsang | 曾 | Zeng · Cantonese |
| Chow | 周 | Zhou · Cantonese |
| Kwok | 郭 | Guo · Cantonese |
| Lee | 李 | Li · common English spelling |
| Yeung | 杨 | Yang · Cantonese |
| Tan | 陈 | Chen · Hokkien / Teochew |
| Lim | 林 | Lin · Hokkien |
| Ong | 王 | Wang · Hokkien |
| Goh | 吴 | Wu · Hokkien / Teochew |
| Teo | 张 | Zhang · Teochew |
| Chang | 张 | Zhang · Wade–Giles (Taiwan) |
| Hsu | 徐 or 许 | Xu · Wade–Giles (Taiwan) |
| Tsai | 蔡 | Cai · Wade–Giles (Taiwan) |
| Chiang | 蒋 | Jiang · Wade–Giles (Taiwan) |
Tips for researching a Chinese surname
- Find the character first. Pinyin alone is ambiguous: “Xu” can be 徐 or 许, “Zhang” can be 张 or 章. Family documents or gravestones usually show the character.
- Trace the dialect. Spellings like Tan, Lim or Ong point to Hokkien or Teochew roots in Fujian and Southeast Asia; Chan or Wong suggest Cantonese.
- Look for a jiapu. Many clans keep genealogy books (家谱) recording generations and generation names — sometimes back hundreds of years.
- Mind the name order. Chinese puts the surname first, but many people abroad flip it. Check which is the family name before filing records.
- Compare neighbors. Many Chinese surnames spread to Korea and Vietnam: 金 is Kim in Korean, 阮 is Nguyen in Vietnamese. Our last names hub has more.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common Chinese last name?
Wang (王) and Li (李) are the most common surnames in mainland China, each carried by roughly 90–100 million people, with Zhang (张) close behind.
How many Chinese surnames are there?
Thousands have existed historically, but only a few hundred are in common use today, and the top 100 cover the large majority of Chinese people.
Why do Chinese surnames have different spellings?
Mandarin pinyin became standard in mainland China in 1958, but Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas communities kept Cantonese, Hokkien or Wade–Giles spellings — so 陈 can be Chen, Chan or Tan.
What is a rare Chinese last name?
Compound surnames such as Ouyang, Zhuge, Sima, Shangguan and Duanmu are rare and considered distinguished.
Is Lee a Chinese last name?
Yes. Lee is the most common English spelling of 李 (Li), especially among Hong Kong and overseas Chinese families. It is also a common Korean and English surname.