Pinyin: lì xuānGender style: feminine-leaningUpdated September 2026
The transliteration you'll see on official documents is one thing — a name you'd actually want to use is another. Below are 4 crafted options for Lily, each built from characters with real, positive meanings rather than sound alone.
莉萱
lì xuān
“Jasmine & Daylily”
莉
lì · tone 4 · woodjasmine, fragrant beauty
萱
xuān · tone 1 · wooddaylily, carefree, forget worries
Wood element🎵 tone 4 → 1
莲兰
lián lán
“Lotus & Orchid”
莲
lián · tone 2 · woodlotus, purity
兰
lán · tone 5 · woodorchid, refined fragrance
Wood element🎵 tone 2 → 5
兰萱
lán xuān
“Orchid & Daylily”
兰
lán · tone 5 · woodorchid, refined fragrance
萱
xuān · tone 1 · wooddaylily, carefree, forget worries
Wood element🎵 tone 5 → 1
莉莉
lì lì
“Jasmine & Jasmine”
莉
lì · tone 4 · woodjasmine, fragrant beauty
莉
lì · tone 4 · woodjasmine, fragrant beauty
Wood element🎵 tone 4 → 4
Want a match tuned to you?
These are the standard crafts for Lily. The free generator scores candidates across sound similarity, your vibe picks, gender convention, tone flow — and five-element harmony if you add your birth year.
Why these aren't the passport spelling. Government transliteration (迈克尔 for Michael) is fixed by rule and optimized for paperwork. The options above are chosen names — every character selected for meaning, tone flow and gender fit, the way Chinese speakers pick names for themselves.
About the name Lily
Lily is a traditionally feminine given name. In Chinese social settings — WeChat, university classes, business cards — having a crafted name like the options above reads far better than a raw transliteration, because every character carries meaning your Chinese friends can immediately appreciate.
The name "Lily" is well-received in Chinese-speaking contexts because it evokes the lily flower, a symbol of purity and refined beauty in Chinese culture. Common Chinese adaptations like 莉萱 (lì xuān) and 莲兰 (lián lán) preserve this floral elegance while adding traditional character meanings that emphasize grace and natural beauty. For English speakers named Lily, these Chinese versions offer a harmonious balance between preserving the original name's soft, feminine sound and embracing culturally meaningful imagery.
莉萱 is a crafted option prioritizing meaning. Official documents would use a government transliteration instead; both can coexist — one for paperwork, one for life.
Say each aloud and pick the one whose sound and meaning resonate. If you care about elemental harmony, run the free generator with your birth year — it will re-score these same characters against your element.
Use it everywhere socially and professionally. Passports and visas follow fixed transliteration rules set by governments, which is separate from any chosen name.