Tool · Culture
Chinese name generator
起名 qǐmíng · a Chinese name of your own
A real Chinese name, not a transliteration: a Chinese surname that sounds like yours and two characters chosen for sound, meaning and the five elements of your birth chart.
Your details
Your birth chart 八字
For fun and for culture. BaZi and five-element naming are Chinese traditions and beliefs, not science. Before you print a name on anything permanent, ask a native Chinese speaker.
The answer
Type your name and birthday and the generator gives you three real Chinese names: a common Chinese surname that sounds like yours, and a two-character given name. One option echoes the sound of your first name, one balances the five elements of your birth chart (BaZi), and one is chosen for meaning. Every character comes with its pinyin, meaning and element.
How your Chinese name is made
- Your surname. If your family name is already a Chinese surname in another spelling, such as Chan, Wong, Lee, Ng or Lim, you get its character. Otherwise you get one of China’s 100 most common surnames that starts with a similar sound. Chinese names put the surname first.
- Your birth chart. Your birth date and time become four pillars (BaZi, 八字, “eight characters”): year, month, day and hour, each a heavenly stem plus an earthly branch. Months follow the solar terms, and the year changes at Lichun, the start of spring around 4 February. The stem of your day pillar is your “day master”.
- Your elements. Each of the eight characters belongs to one of the five elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The generator counts them and finds the ones your chart lacks or has least of.
- Your given name. Traditional naming adds what the chart lacks. Each name character has an element, by its radical or meaning (氵 water, 木 wood, 日 fire and so on), so the generator picks characters of the elements you need, with good meanings, that suit a woman, a man or either, and that echo the first sounds of your name.
Chinese parents still choose names with care: many think about meaning, sound and tone, and some consult fortune tellers who choose characters by the five elements. Read more in our guides to how Chinese names work, popular girls’ names, popular boys’ names and the 100 most common surnames. To find your zodiac animal, use the Chinese zodiac calculator.
Questions readers ask
How do I get a Chinese name?
Chinese names put the surname first, then a one- or two-character given name. A good Chinese name for a foreigner usually takes a real Chinese surname that sounds like your own family name, and given-name characters with a good meaning, rather than spelling out every syllable. Type your name above to get three suggestions, then ask a Chinese-speaking friend which they like best.
Is this a real Chinese name or a transliteration?
A real name. Transliterations such as 迈克尔 for Michael copy every sound and are what newspapers use for foreign names. This generator does what Chinese people do for friends and colleagues: a common surname plus one or two well-chosen characters, so the result looks and sounds like a Chinese name.
What do BaZi and the five elements have to do with names?
BaZi (八字, “eight characters”) describes a birth moment by four pillars, year, month, day and hour, each made of a heavenly stem and an earthly branch. Each character belongs to one of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal or water. Traditional Chinese naming often adds a character linked to an element the chart lacks, so the name “balances” the chart. It is a custom and a belief, not a science.
What if I don’t know my birth time?
Leave the time blank. The generator then reads three pillars (six characters) instead of four, which is enough for the element balance. The day of birth is the most important part of the chart.
Should I use the time where I was born?
Use the clock time where you were born. Professional BaZi readers sometimes adjust it to local solar time; this generator keeps it simple and uses the time you enter.
Can I use my Chinese name for a tattoo?
Ask a native Chinese speaker first. Every character here has a positive meaning, but a tattoo is permanent, and a person can tell you whether the combination sounds natural, how it reads with your surname, and whether to use simplified or traditional characters.
Why does my surname come out differently from my friend’s?
If your family name is already a Chinese name in another spelling, such as Chan, Wong, Lee or Ng, the generator uses that character. Otherwise it picks one of China’s 100 most common surnames that starts with a similar sound, such as Shi (石) for Smith or Ma (马) for Miller.
Is the generator free and private?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser; your name and birthday are not sent or stored anywhere.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi: stems, branches, day master, five elements) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Chinese name (naming practice, five-element naming) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Lichun (start of spring, about 4 February) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- 6tail, lunar-javascript (open-source Chinese calendar library used to build and test the solar-term table) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, List of common Chinese surnames (Ministry of Public Security 2019 top 100) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
Update log. 2 November 2026 — published. Next review due 2 February 2027. Suggest a correction
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