Chinese Surname Encyclopedia
The "Hundred Family Surnames" (百家姓) is a classic Chinese text from the Song Dynasty that lists the most common Chinese last names. These top 100 surnames cover over 85% of China's population. Explore each one below.
Tip: A complete Chinese name is made of a surname (last name) followed by a given name (first name). Browse the surnames below, then head to our Name Translator Tool or Given Names Directory to find the perfect first name to pair with your surname.
Chinese surnames (姓氏, xìngshì) have a history spanning over 3,000 years. Unlike Western last names, Chinese family names are typically a single character and appear before the given name. For example, in the name 李明远 (Lǐ Míngyuǎn), 李 (Lǐ) is the surname and 明远 (Míngyuǎn) is the given name.
According to the Song Dynasty classic Baijiaxing (百家姓, "Hundred Family Surnames"), there are hundreds of documented Chinese last names. Today, the top 100 Chinese surnames account for over 85% of the population — with 王 (Wáng), 李 (Lǐ), 张 (Zhāng), and 刘 (Liú) being the four most common family names in China.
王
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
🔥 2 picks
李
Imperial surname of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the most common surname in China and worldwide.
张
Surname of Hui, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor, credited with inventing the bow and arrow.
🔥 2 picks
刘
Imperial surname of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), one of the most influential dynasties in Chinese history.
陈
Originated from the State of Chen, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state. Also the surname of Chen Sheng who led the first major rebellion against the Qin Dynasty.
杨
Imperial surname of the Sui Dynasty (581-618), originated from the State of Yang.
黄
Originated from the State of Huang, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state. One of the most common Chinese surnames.
🔥 2 picks
赵
Imperial surname of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), listed first in the "Hundred Family Surnames" (Bai Jia Xing).
周
Imperial surname of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE), the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history.
🔥 1 picks
吴
Originated from the State of Wu, one of the Spring and Autumn period's five hegemon states. Also the surname of Sun Wu (Sun Tzu), author of "The Art of War".
徐
Originated from the State of Xu, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
孙
Surname of Sun Wu (Sun Tzu), the famous military strategist, and Sun Bin, another renowned military strategist.
🔥 1 picks
马
Surname of Ma Yuan, a famous Han Dynasty general known as "The Volcano General". Also surname of Ma Chao, one of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu Han.
朱
Imperial surname of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
🔥 6 picks
胡
Originated from the State of Hu, an ancient vassal state. Also associated with Hu Guang, a Tang Dynasty chancellor.
🔥 2 picks
郭
Originated from the Guo state, descendants of the Yellow Emperor.
何
Originated from the State of Han, or evolved from the surname Ji.
林
Descendants of Bi Gan, a loyal official of the Shang Dynasty. Their ancestor Lin Jian was enfeoffed in Lin by King Wu of Zhou.
高
Originated from the State of Qi, descendants of Jiang Taigong.
罗
Originated from the State of Luo, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
郑
Originated from the State of Zheng, an important vassal state during the Spring and Autumn period.
梁
Originated from the State of Liang, an ancient vassal state.
谢
Originated from the State of Xie, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state. Also the surname of Xie An, a famous Jin Dynasty statesman.
宋
Originated from the State of Song, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
唐
Originated from the State of Tang, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
许
Originated from the State of Xu, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
韩
Originated from the State of Han, one of the Seven Warring States.
曹
Originated from the State of Cao, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
冯
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
邓
Originated from the State of Deng, an ancient vassal state.
彭
Originated from the State of Peng, an ancient vassal state.
曾
Descendants of Zeng Shen (Zengzi), one of Confucius's most prominent disciples.
程
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
蔡
Originated from the State of Cai, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
潘
Originated from the State of Pan, an ancient vassal state.
田
Originated from the Tian clan that replaced the ruling Jiang clan of the State of Qi.
董
Originated from the State of Dong, an ancient vassal state.
袁
Originated from the State of Yuan, an ancient vassal state.
于
Originated from the State of Yu, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
余
Originated from the State of Yu, or evolved from surname Yu.
叶
Originated from the State of Ye, an ancient vassal state.
蒋
Originated from the State of Jiang, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
杜
Originated from the State of Du, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
苏
Originated from the State of Su, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
魏
Originated from the State of Wei, one of the Seven Warring States.
薛
Originated from the State of Xue, an ancient vassal state.
阎
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
沈
Originated from the State of Shen, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
鲁
Originated from the State of Lu, Confucius's home state and center of early Chinese culture.
陆
Descendants of Lu Zhong, grandson of the Emperor Zhuanxu.
孟
Descendants of Mencius (Mengzi), the most famous Confucian philosopher after Confucius himself.
贾
Originated from the State of Jia, an ancient vassal state.
丁
Originated from the State of Ding, an ancient vassal state.
宣
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
阮
Originated from the State of Ruan, an ancient vassal state.
蓝
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
闵
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
席
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
季
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
麻
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
强
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
容
Originated from the State of Rong, an ancient vassal state.
方
Originated from the State of Fang, an ancient vassal state.
顾
Originated from the State of Gu, an ancient vassal state.
侯
Originated from the State of Hou, or evolved from official title "Hou" (Marquis).
邵
Originated from the State of Shao, descendants of Duke of Shao.
龙
Originated from the State of Long, an ancient vassal state.
🔥 1 picks
万
Descendants of the Wan clan, associated with State of Wei.
段
Originated from the State of Duan, an ancient vassal state.
雷
Originated from the State of Lei, an ancient vassal state.
钱
Originated from the Kingdom of Wuyue, one of the Ten Kingdoms (907-960). Listed second in "Hundred Family Surnames".
汤
Surname of Tang of Shang, the founding emperor of the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE).
尹
Originated from official title "Yin" (Chancellor) in ancient China.
黎
Originated from the State of Li, an ancient vassal state.
易
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
常
Originated from the State of Chang, an ancient vassal state.
武
Surname of King Wu of Zhou, founder of the Zhou Dynasty.
乔
Originated from the State of Qiao, an ancient vassal state.
贺
Originated from the State of He, an ancient vassal state.
赖
Originated from the State of Lai, a Zhou Dynasty vassal state.
龚
Descendants of Gong Gong, a legendary Chinese figure.
文
Surname of King Wen of Zhou, known for his contributions to the I Ching.
庞
Originated from the State of Pang, an ancient vassal state.
樊
Originated from the State of Fan, an ancient vassal state.
兰
Common Chinese surname with very high usage frequency.
殷
Surname associated with the Shang Dynasty, also known as the Yin Dynasty.
施
Originated from the State of Shi, an ancient vassal state.
陶
Descendants of Tao Tang, the legendary emperor Yao.
洪
Originated from the State of Hong, an ancient vassal state.
翟
Originated from the State of Di, an ancient vassal state.
安
Originated from the State of An, an ancient vassal state.
颜
Surname of Yan Hui, Confucius's most beloved disciple.
倪
Originated from the State of Ni, an ancient vassal state.
庄
Surname of Zhuang Zhou (Zhuangzi), one of the most influential Daoist philosophers.
项
Common Chinese surname with medium usage frequency.
邱
Common Chinese surname with medium usage frequency.
夏
Originated from the Xia Dynasty, the first dynasty in traditional Chinese history (c. 2070-1600 BCE).
凌
Common Chinese surname with medium usage frequency.
缪
Common Chinese surname with medium usage frequency.
葛
Originated from the State of Ge, an ancient vassal state.
The vast majority of Chinese family names consist of a single character (e.g., 王, 李, 张). There are also rare two-character surnames (复姓) like 欧阳 (Ōuyáng) and 司马 (Sīmǎ). Single-character surnames account for over 99% of all Chinese people.
China's surname distribution is extremely concentrated. The top 10 Chinese last names alone cover roughly 40% of the population. This is very different from Western countries where surname distribution is much more spread out across thousands of family names.
Many Chinese surnames can be traced back to ancient states, fiefdoms, or noble titles. For example, 陈 (Chén) originates from the ancient state of Chen, and 赵 (Zhào) comes from a fiefdom in the Zhou Dynasty. Your Chinese last name carries thousands of years of history.
王 (Wáng) is currently the most common Chinese surname, used by over 100 million people in China. It's followed closely by 李 (Lǐ) and 张 (Zhāng). Together, these three Chinese family names account for over 20% of the entire Chinese population.
The Baijiaxing (百家姓), or "Hundred Family Surnames," is a classic Chinese text from the Song Dynasty (c. 10th century). It's a rhyming poem that lists over 400 common Chinese surnames. Despite its name, it includes more than 100 — the title uses "hundred" in the sense of "many." The first few lines are: 赵钱孙李, 周吴郑王 (Zhào Qián Sūn Lǐ, Zhōu Wú Zhèng Wáng).
There are several approaches: pick a surname that sounds similar to your English last name (phonetic match), choose one based on your Chinese zodiac sign, or simply browse and select one that resonates with you culturally. Our Name Translator Tool can help you find the perfect Chinese surname with phonetic and zodiac matching.
Yes! Many Chinese last names originated from place names, official titles, or descriptive words. For instance, 林 (Lín) means "forest," 山 (Shān) means "mountain," and 金 (Jīn) means "gold." While Chinese people don't usually think of their surname's literal meaning in daily life, the origins and stories behind each family name are deeply rooted in Chinese history and culture.
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