Chinese American Name Generator

Realistic names for Chinese American characters

Real-World Names & CulturesPart of: real-world name generators500 names

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Generate believable Chinese American names: English first names paired with Cantonese, Toishanese, Taiwanese and Mandarin surnames like Wong, Louie, Hsu and Zhang, plus Chinese middle names, first-generation pinyin names and hyphenated family names. For novels, screenplays, games and realistic character casts.

About Chinese American names

A Chinese American name usually tells you when and from where a family arrived. The surname spelling is the biggest clue. Families from the 19th- and early 20th-century Cantonese and Toishanese migrations carry spellings fixed by immigration clerks: Wong, Louie, Chin, Moy, Eng, Hom, Toy, Gee, Lum, Yee, Quan, Jew, Dong. Hong Kong arrivals after 1965 use Cantonese romanizations like Chan, Cheung, Lau, Leung, Ng, Yip and Tsang; Taiwanese families use Wade-Giles (Hsu, Hsieh, Kuo, Chiang, Tsai, Chou); mainland immigrants since the 1980s use pinyin (Zhang, Liu, Zhao, Zhou, Xu, Zheng). The same family name, 陈, can appear as Chan, Chin, Chen or Tan depending on the route taken.

Given names follow generation. Immigrants often keep a Chinese given name (Wei, Ming, Mei-Ling, Kwok Wah) or adopt an English one at school or work. American-born children typically receive an English first name with a Chinese name as a middle name or used only at home: Grace Mei-Lin Wong, Kevin Wei Zhang. Certain English names were especially popular in Chinese American families in each era: Vivian, Connie, Irene and Wilson for boomers, Tiffany, Jason and Kevin for Gen X and millennials, Olivia, Ethan and Chloe today. Hyphenated surnames appear in mixed families.

The list mixes every layer so grandparents, parents and kids each sound right.

How to choose Chinese American names

  • Match the surname spelling to the family's story: Wong, Louie, Moy or Chin for a San Francisco or New York Chinatown family with deep roots; Chan, Lau or Cheung for Hong Kong roots; Hsu, Kuo or Tsai for Taiwanese; Zhang, Liu or Zhou for recent mainland arrivals.
  • Give each generation its own naming style: grandparents with Chinese or old-fashioned English names (Kwok Wah, Margaret, Harold), parents with 1970s and 80s favorites (Vivian, Wilson, Connie), kids with current American names (Olivia, Ethan, Chloe).
  • A Chinese middle name is a natural way to show heritage without needing a full Chinese name; keep it one or two syllables and in the same romanization system as the surname (Mei-Lin Wong, Xinyu Li).
  • Avoid stereotyped picks; real families choose from the whole English name pool, and classic, slightly formal names (Vincent, Irene, Raymond, Grace) were historically common.
  • If a character is first-generation and goes by an English name, the Chinese name can still appear on documents or in dialogue with relatives, which is a realistic and useful storytelling detail.

Frequently asked questions

Why are Chinese American surnames spelled so many different ways?

Chinese characters were romanized by sound in whatever dialect the immigrant spoke and by whatever clerk wrote it down. The surname 黄 became Wong in Cantonese, Huang in pinyin and Hwang in Wade-Giles; 李 is Lee, Li or Lei. Old Chinatown spellings like Louie, Jew, Toy and Moy are Toishanese forms from the 1800s.

Do Chinese Americans use Chinese or English first names?

Both are common. Many immigrants adopt an English name for work and keep a Chinese name at home; American-born Chinese are usually given an English first name with a Chinese middle name, and may go by either depending on context.

Which Chinese American surnames are most common?

Lee, Wong, Chen, Chan, Lin, Wang, Liu, Zhang, Huang and Li are the most frequent in U.S. census data, followed by Yang, Wu, Chang, Cheung, Lau, Ng, Hsu and Tsai. Older Chinatown communities skew toward Wong, Lee, Chin, Louie, Eng and Moy.

Can I use these names for a real person or business?

The names are built from common given names and surnames rather than copied from specific people; like any realistic name they may coincidentally match someone. For fiction they work as-is; for a baby or a brand, check availability and meaning in the family's dialect first.

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All 500 Chinese American names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 40 names

  • Aaron Sheng Xie
  • Aaron Zihao Yang
  • Abigail Chou
  • Abigail Mei Lee
  • Addison Jia Wong
  • Adrian Zhuge
  • Agnes Tsui
  • Aidan Kwong
  • Aiden Xu
  • Alan Chou
  • Albert Ho
  • Albert Yiu
  • Alex Hoh
  • Alfred Tsao
  • Alice Gee
  • Alina Lin
  • Allison Hua Yang
  • Alvin Quan
  • Amelia Teng
  • Amy Lau
  • Andrew Chao
  • Andy Au
  • Angela Eng
  • Angela Yu-Chen Lin
  • Anita Kwong
  • Anna Lee-Sullivan
  • Annie Yip
  • Arlene Hing
  • Arnold Pao
  • Arthur Eng
  • Asher Lau
  • Ashley Kwok
  • Atticus Leong
  • Audrey Lan Chan
  • Audrey Pan
  • Aurora Chen
  • Austin Jie Wu
  • Austin Tso
  • Ava Tong
  • Avery Xue Liu

B: 21 names

  • Beatrice Lum
  • Beatrix Wei
  • Beckett Lok
  • Bella Ng
  • Benjamin Kang Zhu
  • Bernadette Yee
  • Bernard Kao
  • Bernice Eng
  • Betty Tom
  • Bianca Ho
  • Bo Hu
  • Bobby Teng
  • Bonnie Suet-Fan Kwan
  • Bowen Zhao
  • Brandon Woo
  • Brenda Chui
  • Brian Ho-Ming Lau
  • Bridget Dong
  • Brittany Tsoi
  • Brooke Yin Chen
  • Bruce Wah

C: 39 names

  • Caitlin Ning Lau
  • Caleb Feng Xu
  • Calvin Chew
  • Camille Ru Huang
  • Carol Sit
  • Caroline Hsin-Yi Chang
  • Carter Sun
  • Cecil Chern
  • Cecilia Kwan
  • Celeste Yuen
  • Celine Hui
  • Charlotte Yen
  • Chenyu Liang
  • Chester Lock
  • Chester Woon
  • Chia-Hui Wang
  • Chih-Hao Tsai
  • Chloe Huang-Patel
  • Chloe Pang
  • Christine Mar
  • Chun Kit Leung
  • Cindy Moy
  • Claire Xin Zhao
  • Claire Xinyu Li
  • Clara Huang
  • Clarence Mah
  • Clifford Wong
  • Clyde Wong
  • Colin Ngo
  • Colin Tak-Hing Leung
  • Connie Yee
  • Conrad Fang
  • Constance Jue
  • Cordelia Song
  • Courtney Yau
  • Crystal Ip
  • Curtis Kong
  • Cynthia Ching
  • Cyril Shen

D: 24 names

  • Daisy Wei
  • Daniel Jun Liu
  • Danny Lai
  • Danny Quon
  • Daphne Qiao Zhang
  • Darren Chiang
  • Darryl Mui
  • Dean Moy
  • Deborah Seid
  • Delia Gock
  • Denise Mok
  • Dennis Gong
  • Derek Kwok-Leung Wong
  • Derek Siu
  • Desmond Sung
  • Diana Dong
  • Dominic Szeto
  • Donna Tso
  • Dora Lim
  • Doris Mei-Chen Yang
  • Dorothy Hom
  • Douglas Lowe
  • Duane Seto
  • Dwight Shiu

E: 30 names

  • Earl Chung
  • Edgar Soong
  • Edith Yee
  • Edmund Sing
  • Edwin Jung
  • Eileen Quan
  • Elaine Mak
  • Eleanor Moy
  • Elena Zhang
  • Elijah Chen
  • Elise Hui Wu
  • Ellen Wing
  • Elliot Kin Lee
  • Elmer Leong
  • Eloise Xiao
  • Emily Kwan
  • Emily Xiu Chen
  • Emma Chiang
  • Emmett Tse
  • Eric Hsieh
  • Ernest Chew
  • Esther Yung
  • Ethan Tsui
  • Ethan Zeyu Wang
  • Eugene Hee
  • Evan Tao Lin
  • Evelyn Hwang
  • Evelyn Jingyi Zhang
  • Everett Mak
  • Ezra Shek

F: 13 names

  • Faith Yue Lin
  • Fang Lin
  • Farrah Yeung
  • Felicia Ngai
  • Felix Ho
  • Felix Toy
  • Finn Ngo
  • Fiona Yuk-Ling Lau
  • Florence Chan
  • Frances Chin
  • Francis Yick
  • Franklin Tang
  • Frederick Ouyang

G: 20 names

  • Gail Lok
  • Garrett Hon
  • Gary Chiang
  • Gavin Shun Wong
  • Gemma Yung
  • Genevieve Deng
  • Geraldine Tom
  • Gilbert Ong
  • Gladys Toy
  • Glenn Lee
  • Gloria Tong
  • Gordon Chung-Hao Liu
  • Gordon Fung
  • Grace Chen
  • Grace Mei-Lin Wong
  • Grace Ruiqi Huang
  • Grace Wong-Miller
  • Graham Yat Chan
  • Gregory Auyeung
  • Griffin Tso

H: 23 names

  • Hailey Min Liang
  • Hannah Bow
  • Hannah Yiwen Wu
  • Hannah Yuan Li
  • Hao Liu
  • Haoran Zhu
  • Harold Gee
  • Harper Chao
  • Harrison Tsao
  • Harvey Tak Liu
  • Hazel Pan
  • Heather Suen
  • Helen Toy
  • Henry Lui
  • Henry Zheng
  • Herbert Jew
  • Hong Li
  • Horace Hung
  • Howard Chien-Ming Hsu
  • Howard Szeto
  • Hsiao-Wen Lin
  • Hugo Wan
  • Hui Xu

I: 10 names

  • Ida Kee
  • Ingrid Ong
  • Irene Fong
  • Iris Song
  • Irving Low
  • Isaac Wing Chen
  • Isabella Kuo
  • Isabelle Shu Luo
  • Ivan Yuk
  • Ivy Tian

J: 40 names

  • Jackson Zhou
  • Jade Liang
  • James Liu
  • Janet Ngo
  • Janice Jang
  • Jasmine Lau
  • Jason Kai Lee
  • Jason Kuo
  • Jason Minghao Zhou
  • Jasper Hei Lau
  • Jasper Kwan
  • Jayden Guo
  • Jeanette Yick
  • Jeannie Zhang
  • Jeffrey Tsai
  • Jennifer Lee
  • Jerry Hsieh
  • Jessica Cheung
  • Jiaqi Luo
  • Jimmy Dea
  • Jin Lee
  • Jing Ma
  • Joan Pun
  • Joanna Tam
  • Jocelyn Pang
  • Johnny Der
  • Jonah Chun Huang
  • Jonathan Poon
  • Jordan Mok
  • Josephine Feng
  • Joshua Ren Guo
  • Joyce Hon
  • Joyce Lum
  • Jude Pun
  • Judith Li-Hua Tsai
  • Judy Jew
  • Julian Luo
  • Jun Zhang
  • Juniper Cao
  • Justin Seto

K: 17 names

  • Kai Chen
  • Kam Lee
  • Karen Hom
  • Katherine Ling Huang
  • Kathy Shek
  • Keira Shum
  • Kelvin Hing
  • Kenneth Hwang
  • Kenny Kam
  • Kevin Haoyu Chen
  • Kevin Hsu
  • Kevin Wei Zhang
  • Kimberly Fok
  • Kristen Chiu
  • Kuan-Yu Chiang
  • Kwok Wah Lau
  • Kyle Chui

L: 33 names

  • Lai Fong Yip
  • Laila Tam
  • Lan Huang
  • Larry Kuo
  • Lauren Mei Cheung
  • Lawrence Chew
  • Leah Zhao-Goldberg
  • Lei Sun
  • Leland Quock
  • Lena Jiang
  • Leo Liang
  • Leonard Kin-Wah Yip
  • Leroy Gong
  • Lester Chin
  • Levi Hu
  • Liam Zhang
  • Lian Wong
  • Lillian Wong
  • Lily Chen-Harris
  • Lily Chin
  • Linda Wan
  • Lindsay Chak
  • Ling Wang
  • Lisa Tse
  • Lloyd Hom
  • Logan Wu
  • Loretta Dong
  • Lorraine Quan
  • Lucas Huang
  • Lucas Yan Gao
  • Lucille Hoy
  • Lucy Chan
  • Luna Liu

M: 32 names

  • Madeleine Han
  • Madison Qiu Ma
  • Maeve Yang
  • Man Ho Cheung
  • Marcus Chi-Wai Ng
  • Marcus Situ
  • Margaret Fong
  • Marian Dong
  • Martha Ong
  • Mason Zhao
  • Matthew Shum
  • Maxine Lum
  • Maxwell Sheung
  • May Liu
  • Maya Lin-Kowalski
  • Megan Lan Sun
  • Mei Wong
  • Mei-Ling Chen
  • Melissa Cheng
  • Melvin Joe
  • Merle Mar
  • Mia Hsieh
  • Michael Teng
  • Michelle Louie
  • Miles Chao
  • Miles Xie
  • Min Liang
  • Ming Chen
  • Miriam Fung
  • Monica Shiu
  • Muriel Leong
  • Myrna Sing

N: 12 names

  • Nancy Yeung
  • Naomi Jue
  • Natalie Ying Hu
  • Nathan Wai Chan
  • Nelson Kong
  • Nicholas Sima
  • Nina Wan
  • Noah Wang
  • Nolan Chui
  • Nora Wu-Martinez
  • Norman Quan
  • Nova Lee

O: 7 names

  • Oliver Li
  • Olivia Hsu
  • Olivia Kwok
  • Olivia Liu-Bennett
  • Oscar Gok
  • Otis Jang
  • Owen Ma

P: 14 names

  • Patrick Wang
  • Pauline Leong
  • Pearl Wu
  • Pei-Chen Chang
  • Penelope Cao
  • Peter Loo
  • Philip Choy
  • Phoebe Yi-Ting Wu
  • Phyllis Hung
  • Ping Yang
  • Poppy Cui
  • Preston Shek
  • Priscilla Poon
  • Priscilla Siu-Man Cheung

Q: 1 name

  • Qing Zhu

R: 28 names

  • Rachel Yue Wang
  • Raymond Mar
  • Raymond Shih-Chieh Huang
  • Raymond Soo
  • Rebecca Soohoo
  • Regina Wan
  • Reid Mok
  • Ren Wu
  • Rex Mong
  • Rhys Hon
  • Richard Hoo
  • Ricky Chao
  • Roberta Fong
  • Roland Lew
  • Ronnie Yen
  • Rosalind Jiang
  • Rose Young
  • Rosemary Hee
  • Rowan Fung
  • Roy Yee
  • Ruby Chang
  • Rui Li
  • Ruoxi Ma
  • Russell Koo
  • Ruth Loy
  • Ryan Junjie Zhao
  • Ryan Kwong
  • Ryan Yuen

S: 30 names

  • Samantha Jia He
  • Sammy Chou
  • Samuel Kit Yip
  • Sandra Yung
  • Sarah Quong
  • Sebastian Ouyang
  • Seraphina Yuan
  • Serena Lam
  • Shan Wang
  • Sharon Lam
  • Sherman Yu
  • Shu-Fen Huang
  • Sienna Wong
  • Silas Tang
  • Simon Sham
  • Siu Ming Chan
  • Sophia Mak
  • Sophia Tsai
  • Sophie Chan-Reyes
  • Sophie Yutong Liu
  • Spencer Pun
  • Stanley Dong
  • Stanley Hoo
  • Stanley Wen-Hsiung Kuo
  • Stella Wu
  • Stephanie Ng
  • Stephanie Wai-Yin Chan
  • Steven Yen
  • Susan Ong
  • Sze Wan Tsang

T: 14 names

  • Tao Luo
  • Terry Tsai
  • Tessa Siu
  • Thelma Chew
  • Theo Sit
  • Theodore Yuen
  • Theresa Mui
  • Tiffany Chan
  • Timothy Auyeung
  • Tommy Hsu
  • Tony Chu
  • Travis Sit
  • Trevor Lok
  • Tyler Bo Zhou

V: 13 names

  • Vanessa Lok
  • Vanessa Rui Tang
  • Vernon Toy
  • Veronica Chow
  • Vicky Tsang
  • Victor Cheng-Wei Chen
  • Victor Lew
  • Vincent Lowe
  • Vincent Mei-Kwong Lee
  • Violet Yuan
  • Virginia Lee
  • Vivian Wong
  • Vivienne Tang

W: 22 names

  • Wai Keung Ng
  • Wallace Jang
  • Walter Louie
  • Warren Koo
  • Wayne Hui
  • Wei Liu
  • Wei-Ming Kuo
  • Wendell Chow
  • Wendy Mei-Yee Tsang
  • Whitney Lui
  • Wilbur Louie
  • Willard Hong
  • William Yang
  • Willie Hwang
  • Willis Gee
  • Willow Cai
  • Wilson Lin
  • Wing Lum
  • Winnie Leung
  • Winston Chu
  • Wren Deng
  • Wyatt Zhu

X: 2 names

  • Xiao Wu
  • Xue Zhang

Y: 10 names

  • Yan Guo
  • Yi Lin
  • Yi-Chun Lee
  • Yilin Xu
  • Ying Zhou
  • Yiran Xie
  • Yu-Ting Hsu
  • Yuk Lin Wong
  • Yun Zhao
  • Yutong Hu

Z: 5 names

  • Zachary Hao Zheng
  • Zhen Huang
  • Zihan Sun
  • Zixuan Guo
  • Zoe Chang-Okafor