600+ Chinese Surnames List: Single & Double|goodname.ai

Chinese Surname

The Chinese Last Name is like a family code, representing which family you belong to. Chinese people write their last name at the beginning of their name, for example “Wang Xiaoming” (王小明), where “Wang” is the last name and ‘Xiaoming’ is the first name. Chinese family names have a history of at least 5,000 years! The earliest surnames (such as “Ji” and “Jiang”) came from matrilineal societies, and gradually evolved into patrilineal inheritance. By the Han Dynasty (about 2,000 years ago), surnames were basically fixed, similar to today. Characteristics of Chinese surnames Low number, high repetition: out of 1.4 billion people, the top 100 surnames account for 85% of the population (e.g. Wang, Li, Zhang). Rich sources: some come from occupation (e.g. “Tao” = pottery making), nature (e.g. “Lin” = forest), fiefdom (e.g. “Zhao” = the ancient state of Zhao ), or even given by the emperor. Women do not change their surnames: traditionally, women keep their original surnames after marriage, unlike in the West.

Chinese Surname List

Each surname has its own origin and totem, and common surnames are single (1 character) and compound (2 characters). Here is a list of some common surnames