There are two honest answers to "how do I say my name in Chinese", and they are different things. One is a transliteration: your name's sounds, written with Chinese characters, the way Chinese newspapers write foreign names. The other is a real Chinese name: two or three characters chosen for meaning and sound, the kind a Chinese friend or teacher would give you. This page shows both, lets you hear yours, and links to the written form for over 300 names.
Find your name
The pages below give the standard transliteration, what each character means, audio, the traditional and simplified forms to copy, and a recorder so you can check your own tones. Browse the full list on the names index, or generate a meaning-based name with the Chinese name generator.
English names
- Emma — 艾玛 Àimǎ
- Olivia — 奥利维亚 Àolìwéiyà
- Ava — 艾娃 Àiwá
- Sophia — 索菲娅 Suǒfēiyà
- Isabella — 伊莎贝拉 Yīshābèilā
- Mia — 米娅 Mǐyà
- Charlotte — 夏洛特 Xiàluòtè
- Amelia — 阿米莉亚 Āmǐlìyà
- Emily — 艾米莉 Àimǐlì
- Abigail — 阿比盖尔 Ābǐgài'ěr
- Elizabeth — 伊丽莎白 Yīlìshābái
- Sarah — 莎拉 Shālā
- Grace — 格蕾丝 Gélěisī
- Chloe — 克洛伊 Kèluòyī
- Victoria — 维多利亚 Wéiduōlìyà
- Hannah — 汉娜 Hànnà
- Lily — 莉莉 Lìlì
- Zoe — 佐伊 Zuǒyī
- Natalie — 娜塔莉 Nàtǎlì
- Lucy — 露西 Lùxī
- Anna — 安娜 Ānnà
- Jessica — 杰西卡 Jiéxīkǎ
- Jennifer — 詹妮弗 Zhānnīfú
- Ashley — 阿什莉 Āshílì
- Samantha — 萨曼莎 Sàmànshā
- Rachel — 蕾切尔 Lěiqiè'ěr
- Rebecca — 丽贝卡 Lìbèikǎ
- Laura — 劳拉 Láolā
- Megan — 梅根 Méigēn
- Nicole — 妮可 Nīkě
- Katherine — 凯瑟琳 Kǎisèlín
- Kate — 凯特 Kǎitè
- Alice — 爱丽丝 Àilìsī
- Julia — 朱莉娅 Zhūlìyà
- Diana — 戴安娜 Dài'ānnà
- Helen — 海伦 Hǎilún
- Mary — 玛丽 Mǎlì
- Linda — 琳达 Líndá
- Susan — 苏珊 Sūshān
- Amy — 艾米 Àimǐ
- Angela — 安杰拉 Ānjiélā
- Melissa — 梅利莎 Méilìshā
- Stephanie — 斯蒂芬妮 Sīdìfēnnī
- Michelle — 米歇尔 Mǐxiē'ěr
- Ella — 埃拉 Āilā
- Scarlett — 斯嘉丽 Sījiālì
- Luna — 卢娜 Lúnà
- Layla — 莱拉 Láilā
Spanish names
- Sofía — 索菲亚 Suǒfēiyà
- Mateo — 马特奥 Mǎtè'ào
- Santiago — 圣地亚哥 Shèngdìyàgē
- Valentina — 瓦伦蒂娜 Wǎlúndìnà
- Isabel — 伊莎贝尔 Yīshābèi'ěr
- Camila — 卡米拉 Kǎmǐlā
- Carmen — 卡门 Kǎmén
- Javier — 哈维尔 Hāwéi'ěr
- Carlos — 卡洛斯 Kǎluòsī
- Juan — 胡安 Hú'ān
- José — 何塞 Hésāi
- Luis — 路易斯 Lùyìsī
- Miguel — 米格尔 Mǐgé'ěr
- Alejandro — 亚历杭德罗 Yàlìhángdéluó
- Diego — 迭戈 Diégē
- Fernando — 费尔南多 Fèi'ěrnánduō
Russian names
- Natalia — 纳塔利娅 Nàtǎlìyà
- Marina — 玛丽娜 Mǎlìnà
- Anastasia — 阿纳斯塔西娅 Ānàsītǎxīyà
- Dmitri — 德米特里 Démǐtèlǐ
- Olga — 奥尔加 Ào'ěrjiā
- Ivan — 伊万 Yīwàn
- Natasha — 娜塔莎 Nàtǎshā
- Sergei — 谢尔盖 Xiè'ěrgài
- Vladimir — 弗拉基米尔 Fúlājīmǐ'ěr
- Mikhail — 米哈伊尔 Mǐhāyī'ěr
- Alexei — 阿列克谢 Ālièkèxiè
- Andrei — 安德烈 Āndéliè
How Chinese names work
A Chinese name is a family name first (one character, occasionally two), then a given name (one or two characters). 王小明 Wáng Xiǎomíng is Wáng (family) + Xiǎomíng (given). Family names come from a small set (王, 李, 张, 刘, 陈 cover about a third of the population; see common Chinese surnames); given names are chosen from ordinary words for their meaning, so a name is also a small wish: 明 bright, 静 calm, 伟 great.
Foreign names do not fit this shape, which is why there are two paths.
Path 1: transliteration, your name as sound
Every foreign name has a conventional Chinese spelling used by the press and by official documents. It matches the sounds syllable by syllable and ignores meaning: Daniel is 丹尼尔 Dānní'ěr, Sofia is 索菲娅 Suǒfēiyà, Michael is 迈克尔 Màikè'ěr. The characters are chosen from a small set that "sound foreign" to Chinese readers (尔, 娅, 克, 斯), so a transliteration is recognisably a foreign name on sight.
Use it when you need to be findable: a form, a hotel booking, a name badge at a conference in China.
Path 2: a real Chinese name, your name as a name
A meaning-based Chinese name keeps a hint of your name's sound (often the first syllable becomes the family name) and chooses a given name for meaning. David might become 戴伟 Dài Wěi (戴 is a real surname; 伟 means great). Anna might become 安娜 Ān Nà, which happens to be both a transliteration and a plausible name.
Use it when you are learning the language, living in China, or simply want something people will say without hesitation. Ask a native speaker to check it before you commit: some character pairs are fine on paper and comic aloud.
Which should you choose?
Both. Know your transliteration because it exists whether you like it or not, and pick a Chinese name if you will spend time speaking Chinese. Introduce yourself with the Chinese name and write the transliteration on the form.
Say it right: the tones in your name
A transliterated name is three or four syllables with tones, and the tones are not optional. 丹尼尔 is Dān-ní-ěr: first, second, third. Say it flat and it is still recognisable; say it with the wrong tones and it can stop being a name at all. Every name page above has a recorder that scores each syllable's tone, and the free pronunciation test covers the sounds that appear in most names (the r in 尔 and the n endings are the usual trouble spots).
Copy, print, tattoo
Each name page gives the simplified form (mainland China), the traditional form (Taiwan, Hong Kong) and a vertical rendering, with a copy button. For anything permanent, check the traditional form with a native speaker and prefer a meaning-based name: a transliteration on a tattoo reads to a Chinese speaker like "SHUH-MEE-LAH" tattooed on an English speaker.
Frequently asked questions
Is the transliteration the "official" translation of my name? It is the conventional one; Chinese media and translation agencies use the same tables, so 丹尼尔 for Daniel is stable. Spelling variants exist for less common names.
Can I use my surname as a Chinese family name? Usually one syllable of it becomes a Chinese surname that sounds similar: Smith → 史 Shǐ, Brown → 布 Bù, Garcia → 贾 Jiǎ.
Do Chinese people use transliterations for themselves abroad? The reverse: many choose an English given name and keep their family name, which is why you meet people named Kevin Wang.
Will my Chinese name change my tones? Only in the sense that you now have a word you will say a thousand times. Learn its tones properly on day one.
Hear your name and check your tones on its page above, or take the free test to see which sounds need work first.