The Hundred Families
China's most common surnames
100 surnames cover the vast majority of China's population. Your given name will live next to one of these — know its sound and story.
📜 See the full 百家姓 classic — 504 surnames in the original poem →
| # | Surname | Pinyin | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 李 | Lǐ | China's most common surname, shared by over 100 million people — roughly 1 in 14 Chinese … |
| 2 | 王 | Wáng | The second most common surname in China, meaning 'king' or 'monarch'. It originated partl… |
| 3 | 张 | Zhāng | One of the most recognisable Chinese surnames in the world, meaning 'to draw a bow' or 't… |
| 4 | 刘 | Liú | One of China's oldest surnames, meaning 'an axe blade', associated historically with auth… |
| 5 | 陈 | Chén | One of China's most widespread surnames, especially dominant in Fujian, Guangdong and Tai… |
| 6 | 杨 | Yáng | Meaning 'poplar tree', this surname originated from the ancient Yang state in Shanxi prov… |
| 7 | 黄 | Huáng | Meaning 'yellow' — the colour of the Yellow River, imperial robes and earth in Chinese co… |
| 8 | 赵 | Zhào | An ancient surname from the state of Zhao, one of the Warring States (403–228 BC), locate… |
| 9 | 吴 | Wú | Originating from the ancient kingdom of Wu in today's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces (12t… |
| 10 | 周 | Zhōu | Meaning 'cycle', 'complete' or 'circumference', the surname derives from the Zhou Dynasty… |
| 11 | 徐 | Xú | Meaning 'slow', 'calm' or 'composed', the surname originates from the ancient state of Xu… |
| 12 | 孙 | Sūn | Meaning 'grandchild' or 'descendant', the character shows a child connected to a thread o… |
| 13 | 马 | Mǎ | Meaning 'horse', a powerful symbol of speed, loyalty and status in Chinese culture. The s… |
| 14 | 朱 | Zhū | Meaning 'red' or 'vermillion' — the colour of good fortune, imperial lacquer and the sun … |
| 15 | 胡 | Hú | The character originally referred to the nomadic peoples of the north and west, and the s… |
| 16 | 郭 | Guō | Meaning 'outer city wall' or 'suburb', referring to the defensive walls that surrounded a… |
| 17 | 何 | Hé | A short, elegant monosyllable meaning 'what' or 'why' as a question particle, but as a su… |
| 18 | 林 | Lín | Meaning 'forest' — literally two trees side by side — the surname evokes nature, shelter … |
| 19 | 高 | Gāo | Meaning 'tall', 'high' or 'elevated', the character depicts a watchtower or raised platfo… |
| 20 | 罗 | Luó | Meaning 'net' or 'to gather', the character shows a net for catching birds, symbolising c… |
| 21 | 郑 | Zhèng | Originating from the State of Zheng, a Zhou Dynasty kingdom in central China, the surname… |
| 22 | 梁 | Liáng | Meaning 'beam' or 'bridge girder', the character depicts a wooden support structure and e… |
| 23 | 谢 | Xiè | Meaning 'to thank' or 'to decline graciously', the character carries connotations of cour… |
| 24 | 宋 | Sòng | Originating from the ancient state of Song, successor to the Shang Dynasty, the surname h… |
| 25 | 唐 | Táng | Named after the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), widely considered China's greatest imperial pe… |
| 26 | 韩 | Hán | From the ancient State of Han, one of the Warring States (403–230 BC), located in central… |
| 27 | 冯 | Féng | Meaning 'to ford a river on horseback' or 'horse-crossing', the character carries a sense… |
| 28 | 邓 | Dèng | From the ancient Deng state in Hubei province during the Zhou Dynasty. The character comb… |
| 29 | 曹 | Cáo | The character originally referred to a pair of buckets balanced on a yoke, suggesting ind… |
| 30 | 彭 | Péng | An ancient surname traced to Peng Zu, a legendary figure said to have lived for 800 years… |
| 31 | 曾 | Zēng | Meaning 'great-grandparent/grandchild' and by extension 'to increase' or 'to rise', the c… |
| 32 | 肖 | Xiāo | The simplified form 肖 and traditional form 萧 are both used for this surname. The tradit… |
| 33 | 田 | Tián | Meaning 'field' or 'farmland' — the character is a pictograph of a rice paddy divided int… |
| 34 | 董 | Dǒng | Meaning 'to supervise', 'to manage' or 'to understand thoroughly', the character conveys … |
| 35 | 潘 | Pān | Originating from the Pan state, a small Zhou Dynasty territory in Shaanxi, the character … |
| 36 | 袁 | Yuán | An ancient surname with one of the most distinctive characters — a sweeping figure with l… |
| 37 | 蔡 | Cài | Originating from the Cai state in the Zhou Dynasty, located in Henan province, the surnam… |
| 38 | 蒋 | Jiǎng | Meaning 'Manchurian wild rice' — a plant used in ancient rituals. The surname originates … |
| 39 | 余 | Yú | Meaning 'surplus', 'remainder' or 'I' (an archaic first-person pronoun), the character ca… |
| 40 | 杜 | Dù | Meaning 'wild pear tree' or 'to block', the character combines wood with a phonetic eleme… |
| 41 | 叶 | Yè | Meaning 'leaf' — a beautiful character evoking autumn, cycles and the individual unit wit… |
| 42 | 程 | Chéng | Meaning 'journey', 'process' or 'a set distance', the character conveys measured progress… |
| 43 | 苏 | Sū | Meaning 'revive', 'perilla herb' or associated with Suzhou — China's most scenic canal ci… |
| 44 | 魏 | Wèi | From the ancient State of Wei, one of the dominant Warring States (403–225 BC). After the… |
| 45 | 丁 | Dīng | One of the simplest Chinese characters, meaning a 'nail' or 'fourth' (the 4th Heavenly St… |
| 46 | 任 | Rèn | Meaning 'to appoint', 'to bear a burden' or 'to trust someone with responsibility'. The c… |
| 47 | 沈 | Shěn | Originating from the ancient Shen state in Henan. The character also means 'to sink' or '… |
| 48 | 姚 | Yáo | One of the oldest surnames in China, traced to Emperor Shun's mother clan in ancient lege… |
| 49 | 卢 | Lú | An ancient surname meaning 'a type of vessel' or 'black', with roots in the Shang Dynasty… |
| 50 | 崔 | Cuī | Meaning 'high mountain' or 'towering peak', combining the mountain radical with a phoneti… |
| 51 | 钟 | Zhōng | Meaning 'bell' — the large bronze bells that regulated time, ceremony and court life in a… |
| 52 | 谭 | Tán | Originating from the ancient Tan state in Shandong province, conquered in 684 BC, whose a… |
| 53 | 范 | Fán | Meaning a 'mould' or 'pattern' — a clay mould used in bronze casting — suggesting precisi… |
| 54 | 廖 | Liào | A surname whose origins trace to the Liao state of the Zhou Dynasty in Henan. The charact… |
| 55 | 石 | Shí | Meaning 'stone' or 'rock', one of the most elemental characters in the Chinese writing sy… |
| 56 | 金 | Jīn | Meaning 'gold' or 'metal' — one of the five elements in Chinese cosmological philosophy (… |
| 57 | 贾 | Jiǎ | Meaning 'merchant' or 'to trade', the character originally depicted a travelling salesman… |
| 58 | 夏 | Xià | Meaning 'summer' — the warmest, most abundant season in Chinese agricultural thought. The… |
| 59 | 傅 | Fù | Meaning 'to tutor', 'to guide' or 'a teacher of princes', the character depicts a person … |
| 60 | 方 | Fāng | Meaning 'square', 'upright', 'direction' or 'method' — a richly polysemous character that… |
| 61 | 邹 | Zōu | From the ancient Zou state in Shandong province — the birthplace of Mencius, the Confucia… |
| 62 | 熊 | Xióng | Meaning 'bear' — the powerful animal, symbol of strength and Yang energy in Chinese cosmo… |
| 63 | 白 | Bái | Meaning 'white' — the colour of purity, mourning and autumn in Chinese symbolism, and the… |
| 64 | 毛 | Máo | Meaning 'hair', 'fur' or 'feather', the character depicts individual strands. The surname… |
| 65 | 秦 | Qín | Named after the Qin state (秦国), which unified China for the first time in 221 BC under … |
| 66 | 薛 | Xuē | From the ancient Xue state in Shandong province, one of the longest-surviving Zhou Dynast… |
| 67 | 阎 | Yán | A surname written as 阎 or 闫, both pronounced Yán. The character depicts a gate or thres… |
| 68 | 尹 | Yǐn | Meaning 'to govern', 'chief official' or 'a high minister', one of the most ancient title… |
| 69 | 常 | Cháng | Meaning 'constant', 'ordinary' or 'always' — one of the most philosophically loaded commo… |
| 70 | 宁 | Níng | Meaning 'peaceful', 'tranquil' or 'would rather' — a character evoking the deepest Chines… |
| 71 | 龙 | Lóng | Meaning 'dragon' — the most potent symbol in Chinese culture, representing the emperor, g… |
| 72 | 温 | Wén | Meaning 'warm', 'gentle' or 'to warm up'. The character contains the water radical, sugge… |
| 73 | 孔 | Kǒng | One of the most historically significant surnames in the world. The character means 'hole… |
| 74 | 龚 | Gōng | A relatively rare surname whose traditional character 龔 combines two dragons (龙) over a… |
| 75 | 陶 | Táo | Meaning 'pottery' or 'to mould clay' — the character depicts the kiln and the craft of ce… |
| 76 | 侯 | Hóu | Meaning 'marquis' or 'nobleman' — the second rank in the Zhou Dynasty's five-tier peerage… |
| 77 | 邵 | Shào | From the ancient Shao state, a Zhou Dynasty territory in Shaanxi. The Duke of Shao was on… |
| 78 | 孟 | Mèng | The character means 'eldest child' or 'first' and carries connotations of primacy and lea… |
| 79 | 钱 | Qián | Meaning 'money' or 'coin' — one of the most directly auspicious surnames in China. The ch… |
| 80 | 盛 | Shèng | Meaning 'flourishing', 'abundant' or 'grand' — one of the most positively charged charact… |
| 81 | 蓝 | Lán | Meaning 'indigo' or 'blue' — derived from the indigo plant (蓝草) used in Chinese dyeing.… |
| 82 | 雷 | Léi | Meaning 'thunder' — one of the earliest characters in Chinese writing, an onomatopoeic de… |
| 83 | 邰 | Tái | From the ancient Tai state, a small Zhou Dynasty territory associated with the legendary … |
| 84 | 倪 | Ní | Meaning 'limit', 'boundary' or 'edge', the character conveys precision. The surname origi… |
| 85 | 郝 | Hǎo | From the ancient Hao state in Shaanxi province — notably, the western capital of the Zhou… |
| 86 | 戴 | Dài | Meaning 'to wear on the head' or 'to honour' — the character depicts ceremonially placing… |
| 87 | 邱 | Qiū | Meaning 'hill' or 'mound', the character combines the city radical with the character for… |
| 88 | 顾 | Gù | Meaning 'to look back', 'to take care of' or 'to regard with attention' — the character s… |
| 89 | 万 | Wàn | Meaning 'ten thousand' — the number that in Chinese culture represents 'infinite' or 'eve… |
| 90 | 乔 | Qiáo | Meaning 'tall tree', 'lofty' or 'disguised' — the character depicts a person with a plant… |
| 91 | 段 | Duàn | Meaning 'section', 'paragraph' or 'to cut'. The character depicts a tool striking stone, … |
| 92 | 阮 | Ruǎn | An ancient surname from the Ruan state, a small Zhou Dynasty kingdom in Shanxi. The chara… |
| 93 | 闵 | Mǐn | Meaning 'to grieve', 'compassionate' or 'quick and clever'. The surname originates from t… |
| 94 | 柴 | Chái | Meaning 'firewood' or 'kindling', the character depicts stacked wood. The surname origina… |
| 95 | 关 | Guān | Meaning 'gate', 'barrier' or 'to close' — the character originally depicted the bar acros… |
| 96 | 赖 | Lài | Meaning 'to rely on', 'to depend' or 'to blame'. The surname originates from the ancient … |
| 97 | 欧 | Ōu | A surname most commonly found as the first element of the compound surname 欧阳 (Ouyang).… |
| 98 | 蒲 | Pú | Meaning 'cattail' or 'bulrush' — the aquatic plant used in weaving and associated with we… |
| 99 | 屠 | Tú | Meaning 'butcher' or 'to slaughter' — a blunt, ancient character from a time when clan oc… |
| 100 | 易 | Yì | Meaning 'change', 'easy' or 'to exchange' — the character is intimately linked to the I C… |