---
title: "Chinese female names: the most popular girls’ names and what they mean"
url: https://popularinchina.com/culture/chinese-names/female-names
section: "Culture"
type: answer
updated: 2026-11-01
next_review: 2027-02-01
status: checked
author: "The Popular in China desk"
fact_checker: "Alex Liu"
publisher: Popular in China (https://popularinchina.com)
license: Quote with attribution and a link to https://popularinchina.com/culture/chinese-names/female-names
---

# Chinese female names: the most popular girls’ names and what they mean

_Chinese girls’ names are built from characters chosen for their meaning, sound and look, and the favourites change quickly. Here are the top ten girls’ names from the Ministry of Public Security’s most recent national report, for 2021, and from 2019, with pinyin and the meaning of each character, plus the classic names of earlier generations and the characters that make a name sound pretty._

**Verdict: 若汐 (Ruòxī) for newborns; 秀英 (Xiùyīng) across the population** (若汐) — 若汐 topped the 2021 girls’ list; 秀英 is the most common two-character given name in China

## Short answer

The most popular Chinese girl’s name in the most recent national report, for 2021, was 若汐 (Ruòxī), given to 18,000 newborns, ahead of 一诺 (Yīnuò) and 艺涵 (Yìhán). Across the whole population the most common two-character given name is 秀英 (Xiùyīng), used by 2.169 million people.

## At a glance

- **Top girl’s name (2021):** 若汐 (Ruòxī), 18,000 registered newborns
- **Top girl’s name (2019):** 一诺 (Yīnuò), still second in 2021
- **Favourite characters:** 汐 (evening tide), 诺 (promise), 涵 (to contain), 桐 (paulownia tree), 怡 (pleased), 梓 (catalpa tree)
- **Most common two-character given name:** 秀英 (Xiùyīng), used by 2.169 million people (2021)
- **Common full names:** 李娜, 王芳, 王静, 李静 and 张静 are all in China’s ten most common full names (2019)
- **Girls born in 2021:** 4.192 million registered by the end of the year, 47.25% of newborns

## The most popular Chinese girls’ names (2021)

These were the ten most popular names among girls born and registered in 2021, from the Ministry of Public Security’s 2021 national name report, published in January 2022. It is the most recent national report. [1][2][4]

| Rank | Name | Pinyin | What the characters mean |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 若汐 | Ruòxī | 若 like, as if + 汐 the evening tide |
| 2 | 一诺 | Yīnuò | ‘a promise’, as in the idiom 一诺千金, a promise worth a thousand pieces of gold |
| 3 | 艺涵 | Yìhán | 艺 art, skill + 涵 to contain, to include |
| 4 | 依诺 | Yīnuò | 依 to rely on, to comply with + 诺 a promise; a homophone of no. 2 |
| 5 | 梓涵 | Zǐhán | 梓 the Chinese catalpa tree, a symbol of one’s hometown + 涵 to contain |
| 6 | 苡沫 | Yǐmò | 苡 (found in compounds such as 薏苡, Job’s tears) + 沫 foam |
| 7 | 雨桐 | Yǔtóng | 雨 rain + 桐 the paulownia tree |
| 8 | 欣怡 | Xīnyí | 欣 happy + 怡 pleased, in harmony |
| 9 | 语桐 | Yǔtóng | 语 language, speech + 桐 the paulownia tree; a homophone of no. 7 |
| 10 | 语汐 | Yǔxī | 语 language, speech + 汐 the evening tide |

The report gives a count only for first place. Meanings are the dictionary senses of each character (CC-CEDICT via MDBG); parents pick characters for their overall feel, so a name is not a literal sentence.

## Top Chinese girls’ names in 2019

In 2019 the list was led by 一诺, and 依诺, 欣怡, 梓涵 and 雨桐 were already in the top ten. [3][4]

| Rank | Name | Pinyin | What the characters mean |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 一诺 | Yīnuò | ‘a promise’ |
| 2 | 依诺 | Yīnuò | 依 to rely on + 诺 a promise |
| 3 | 欣怡 | Xīnyí | 欣 happy + 怡 pleased, in harmony |
| 4 | 梓涵 | Zǐhán | 梓 catalpa + 涵 to contain |
| 5 | 诗涵 | Shīhán | 诗 poetry + 涵 to contain |
| 6 | 欣妍 | Xīnyán | 欣 happy + 妍 beautiful |
| 7 | 雨桐 | Yǔtóng | 雨 rain + 桐 the paulownia tree |
| 8 | 佳怡 | Jiāyí | 佳 fine, good, beautiful + 怡 pleased |
| 9 | 佳琪 | Jiāqí | 佳 fine, good + 琪 fine jade |
| 10 | 梓萱 | Zǐxuān | 梓 catalpa + 萱 the orange day-lily |

## Classic Chinese women’s names: Xiuying, Guiying and Xiulan

Across the whole registered population the picture is different. These are the most common two-character given names in China in the 2021 report; 秀英 alone is used by 2.169 million people. The list covers all residents, not women only, but most of these names use characters of beauty, flowers and jade. [1][2][3][4]

| Rank | Given name | Pinyin | What the characters mean |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 秀英 | Xiùyīng | 秀 refined, elegant, beautiful + 英 outstanding, excellent |
| 2 | 桂英 | Guìyīng | 桂 cassia, laurel + 英 outstanding |
| 3 | 秀兰 | Xiùlán | 秀 elegant + 兰 orchid |
| 4 | 玉兰 | Yùlán | 玉 jade + 兰 orchid |
| 5 | 婷婷 | Tíngtíng | 婷 graceful, doubled |
| 7 | 桂兰 | Guìlán | 桂 cassia + 兰 orchid |
| 8 | 玉梅 | Yùméi | 玉 jade + 梅 plum blossom |
| 9 | 秀珍 | Xiùzhēn | 秀 elegant + 珍 treasure, precious |
| 10 | 海燕 | Hǎiyàn | 海 sea + 燕 swallow |

Sixth place, 建华 (Jiànhuá), is covered in our guide to [Chinese male names](/culture/chinese-names/male-names). Among one-character given names, 敏 (Mǐn, quick-witted), 静 (Jìng, calm), 丽 (Lì, beautiful) and 艳 (Yàn, bright, glamorous) are all in the 2021 top ten, and 李娜, 王芳, 王静, 李静 and 张静 are among the ten most common full names in the 2019 report.

## Pretty, cute and unisex Chinese names

Traditionally, girls’ names have leaned towards beauty and flowers. Characters that simply mean beautiful or graceful, such as **妍** (yán), **丽** (lì), **秀** (xiù) and **婷** (tíng), are typical, as are flowers and precious things: **兰** (orchid), **梅** (plum blossom), **玉** (jade) and **琪** (fine jade).

Doubled characters are a hallmark of girls’ names, which use them more often than boys’ names, and 婷婷 (Tíngtíng) is one of the ten most common two-character given names in China. Childhood **milk names** (小名) often use the same trick, or put 小 (xiǎo, little) in front.

There is no official list of unisex Chinese names, because a name’s gender comes from its characters rather than from a fixed list. Some characters are popular for both: 梓 (zǐ, the catalpa tree) appears in the 2019 top ten for girls (梓涵, 梓萱) and for boys (梓豪, 梓睿). Among all babies born in 2021, the most-used characters were led by 泽, 梓, 子, 宇 and 沐. For how given names and surnames fit together, see our guide to [how Chinese names work](/culture/chinese-names).

Sources: [1][3][4][5]

> **Note: Choosing a Chinese name for a girl**
>
> Chinese parents weigh the meaning of each character, how the whole name sounds with the surname and its tones, and how the characters look together. Some also count brush strokes or balance the five elements.
>
> It is considered poor form to name a child after a famous person or a living relative.

Sources: [5]

## Questions

**What is the most popular Chinese girl’s name?**

若汐 (Ruòxī), given to 18,000 girls born in 2021, according to the Ministry of Public Security’s 2021 national name report, the most recent national report. 一诺 (Yīnuò) was second and 艺涵 (Yìhán) third.

**What is the most common female name in China?**

The most common two-character given name in China is 秀英 (Xiùyīng), used by 2.169 million people, followed by 桂英 and 秀兰. Among full names, 李娜 (Lǐ Nà) ranked third and 王芳 (Wáng Fāng) fourth in the 2019 report.

**What does Ruoxi mean?**

若汐 (Ruòxī) combines 若, ‘like’ or ‘as if’, with 汐, the evening tide. It was the top girls’ name in 2021.

**What does Yinuo mean?**

一诺 (Yīnuò) means ‘a promise’, as in the idiom 一诺千金, ‘a promise worth a thousand pieces of gold’. It was the top girls’ name in 2019 and second in 2021; its homophone 依诺 was also in the top ten both years.

**What are some pretty Chinese girl names?**

Names built on characters meaning beautiful or graceful, such as 妍, 丽, 秀 and 婷, or on flowers and jade, such as 兰 (orchid), 梅 (plum blossom) and 玉 (jade). Recent favourites include 欣妍 (Xīnyán, happy and beautiful) and 雨桐 (Yǔtóng, rain and paulownia tree).

**Are there unisex Chinese names?**

There is no official list, because gender comes from the characters chosen. Some are popular for both sexes: 梓, the catalpa tree, appears in the 2019 top ten for girls (梓涵, 梓萱) and boys (梓豪, 梓睿).

**Why do Chinese girls’ names use doubled characters?**

Doubling a character, as in 婷婷 (Tíngtíng), is a traditional feature of girls’ names, which use it more often than boys’ names do. 婷婷 is one of the ten most common two-character given names in China.

## Sources

1. [China News Service (中国新闻网), 2021 national name report: most popular newborn names (24 January 2022)](https://www.chinanews.com.cn/sh/2022/01-24/9660203.shtml) — accessed 2026-11-01
2. [Xinhua (新华网), Ministry of Public Security releases 2021 national name report (24 January 2022)](https://www.news.cn/local/2022-01/24/c_1128294760.htm) — accessed 2026-11-01
3. [The Paper (澎湃新闻), Ministry of Public Security, 2019 national name report (《二〇一九年全国姓名报告》)](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5584537) — accessed 2026-11-01
4. [MDBG Chinese Dictionary (CC-CEDICT)](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary) — accessed 2026-11-01
5. [Wikipedia, Chinese name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_name) — accessed 2026-11-01

## Related

- https://popularinchina.com/culture/chinese-names
- https://popularinchina.com/culture/chinese-names/male-names
- https://popularinchina.com/culture/chinese-surnames
- https://popularinchina.com/culture/chinese-zodiac

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