Chinese Courtesy Name Generator

A courtesy name (zi, 字) is a second name traditionally given to a Chinese person at adulthood, used by peers and the public in place of the given name (ming, 名). It is usually two characters and is chosen to complement the meaning of the given name. Zhuge Liang's courtesy name is Kongming, Guan Yu's is Yunchang and Li Bai's is Taibai.

The ming is the personal name from birth, used by parents and superiors. The zi is conferred at the coming-of-age ceremony and used by everyone else as a mark of respect. A hao (号) is a third, self-chosen pseudonym or art name, such as Tao Yuanming's Wuliu Xiansheng or Li Bai's Qinglian Jushi, and was most common among poets, painters and scholars.

Rarely. The custom faded after the May Fourth era in the early twentieth century, and figures like Lu Xun (zi Yucai) and Mao Zedong (zi Runzhi) were among the last generations to receive one. Today courtesy names appear mainly in historical fiction, wuxia and xianxia novels, period dramas and games set in imperial China.

Yes. The historical pairs are best used as reference or for fiction set in their actual era, while the original entries are designed for new characters: Three Kingdoms-style generals, Tang scholars, cultivators in xianxia stories or NPCs in a tabletop campaign. Each entry shows the surname and given name first so you can see how the courtesy name relates to it.