Parents ask me the same question almost every week at BabyNameAi (好名宝): "How do I write my child's English name in Chinese?" Sometimes they mean "how does it sound in Mandarin" — and sometimes they really mean "what's a Chinese name that fits alongside it." Those are two completely different answers, and mixing them up is how families end up with a four-character phonetic label that no grandparent in China would ever choose as a real name.
This guide separates the two. First, a transliteration table for 60 common English names — the standard Mandarin sound, the characters, and the tones. Then, the part most blog posts skip: how to turn that sound into a name a Chinese family would actually give a child.
Transliteration vs. a Real Chinese Name: Know the Difference
There are two ways an English name "becomes Chinese," and you should decide which one you want before you do anything else.
1. Transliteration (音译, yīnyì) — matching the sound. This is the convention used in newspapers, passports, and dubbed films. Lucas becomes 卢卡斯 (Lú kǎ sī): three characters chosen purely because they sound close to the English. The characters carry no intended meaning — 卢 is a surname, 卡 means "card/stuck," 斯 is a grammatical particle. It reads as foreign on purpose. This is what people usually search for when they type "lucas in chinese" or "noah in mandarin."
2. A given name (取名, qǔmíng) — matching the meaning or feel. This is what an actual Chinese name is. It's one or two carefully chosen characters with positive meaning, good tone flow, and cultural weight — paired after a Chinese surname. A child named Noah might transliterate to 诺亚 (Nuò yà) on a form, but carry 诺安 (Nuò ān, "promise and peace") as a real given name that keeps the "Noah" sound and means something.
Rule of thumb: Use transliteration for documents and introductions. Use a real given name for the birth certificate and for the people who love the child. The best bilingual names do both — they echo the English sound while standing on their own in Chinese.
"In Chinese" vs. "In Mandarin" — Same Answer, Usually
A quick note, because the search terms differ: "alex in chinese" and "alex in mandarin" almost always want the same thing — the standard Mandarin (Putonghua) transliteration written in simplified characters. "In Cantonese" would differ (Cantonese uses its own sound-matching and often different characters), but unless you specifically need Cantonese, the Mandarin forms below are what you want. Pinyin tones are marked so relatives can pronounce them.
30 Boys' & Unisex Names in Chinese
| English name | Characters | Pinyin (with tones) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas | 卢卡斯 | Lú kǎ sī | Standard press transliteration |
| Noah | 诺亚 | Nuò yà | Two characters, clean |
| Liam | 利亚姆 | Lì yà mǔ | |
| Ethan | 伊森 | Yī sēn | Short, easy for relatives |
| Oliver | 奥利弗 | Ào lì fú | |
| James | 詹姆斯 | Zhān mǔ sī | |
| Benjamin | 本杰明 | Běn jié míng | 杰明 reads almost like a real name |
| William | 威廉 | Wēi lián | Long history; used for royals |
| Henry | 亨利 | Hēng lì | |
| Alexander | 亚历山大 | Yà lì shān dà | Alex shortens to 亚历 (Yà lì) |
| Alex | 艾利克斯 | Ài lì kè sī | Casual short form 艾克 (Ài kè) |
| Daniel | 丹尼尔 | Dān ní ěr | |
| David | 大卫 | Dà wèi | Two characters, very common |
| Michael | 迈克尔 | Mài kè ěr | Often shortened to 迈克 (Mài kè) |
| Matthew | 马修 | Mǎ xiū | |
| Joseph | 约瑟夫 | Yuē sè fū | |
| Andrew | 安德鲁 | Ān dé lǔ | |
| Ryan | 瑞恩 | Ruì ēn | 瑞 carries "auspicious" |
| Nathan | 内森 | Nèi sēn | |
| Samuel | 塞缪尔 | Sāi miù ěr | |
| Christopher | 克里斯托弗 | Kè lǐ sī tuō fú | Five characters; Chris → 克里斯 |
| Jonathan | 乔纳森 | Qiáo nà sēn | |
| Kevin | 凯文 | Kǎi wén | 凯文 reads like a real name (凯 "triumph") |
| Eric | 埃里克 | Āi lǐ kè | |
| Jack | 杰克 | Jié kè | 杰 means "outstanding" |
| Thomas | 托马斯 | Tuō mǎ sī | |
| George | 乔治 | Qiáo zhì | |
| Edward | 爱德华 | Ài dé huá | 德华 sounds dignified |
| John | 约翰 | Yuē hàn | Historic Bible transliteration |
| Jordan | 乔丹 | Qiáo dān | Unisex; also the basketball name |
30 Girls' & Unisex Names in Chinese
| English name | Characters | Pinyin (with tones) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sophia | 索菲亚 | Suǒ fēi yà | Sophie → 索菲 (Suǒ fēi) |
| Emma | 艾玛 | Ài mǎ | Short and soft |
| Olivia | 奥利维亚 | Ào lì wéi yà | |
| Ava | 艾娃 | Ài wá | 娃 means "baby girl" |
| Isabella | 伊莎贝拉 | Yī shā bèi lā | Bella → 贝拉 (Bèi lā) |
| Mia | 米娅 | Mǐ yà | |
| Charlotte | 夏洛特 | Xià luò tè | 夏 "summer" reads naturally |
| Amelia | 阿米莉亚 | Ā mǐ lì yà | |
| Harper | 哈珀 | Hā pò | |
| Evelyn | 伊芙琳 | Yī fú lín | 琳 "fine jade" is a real name character |
| Grace | 格蕾丝 | Gé lěi sī | Meaning form: 恩典 (ēn diǎn) |
| Chloe | 克洛伊 | Kè luò yī | |
| Emily | 艾米莉 | Ài mǐ lì | |
| Hannah | 汉娜 | Hàn nà | |
| Claire | 克莱尔 | Kè lái ěr | |
| Audrey | 奥黛丽 | Ào dài lì | 黛丽 evokes "elegant beauty" |
| Fiona | 菲奥娜 | Fēi ào nà | |
| Anna | 安娜 | Ān nà | 安 means "peace" |
| Sarah | 萨拉 | Sà lā | |
| Lily | 莉莉 | Lì lì | Meaning form: 百合 (bǎi hé, "lily flower") |
| Rose | 罗丝 | Luó sī | Meaning form: 玫瑰 (méi guī) |
| Victoria | 维多利亚 | Wéi duō lì yà | |
| Catherine | 凯瑟琳 | Kǎi sè lín | Kate → 凯特 (Kǎi tè) |
| Elizabeth | 伊丽莎白 | Yī lì shā bái | Lisa → 丽莎 (Lì shā) |
| Zoe | 佐伊 | Zuǒ yī | |
| Ella | 艾拉 | Ài lā | |
| Nora | 诺拉 | Nuò lā | |
| Scarlett | 斯嘉丽 | Sī jiā lì | 嘉丽 means "fine and beautiful" |
| Taylor | 泰勒 | Tài lè | Unisex |
| Morgan | 摩根 | Mó gēn | Unisex |
"Is Lily a Chinese Name?" — and Other Flower-Name Questions
Short answer: Lily is not a traditional Chinese given name, but it has a natural Chinese equivalent. This comes up constantly with nature and flower names, so it's worth explaining.
Lily the English name transliterates by sound to 莉莉 (Lì lì) — two characters that just match the sound, where 莉 is a character used in girls' names (it appears in jasmine, 茉莉). But Lily the flower is 百合 (bǎi hé) in Chinese, a real and lovely word symbolizing a happy union and lasting harmony (百年好合). So a Chinese-American family with a daughter named Lily has three good options:
- 莉莉 (Lì lì) — keeps the exact English sound; reads as a transliteration.
- 百合 (Bǎi hé) — the true flower meaning; a softer, more poetic choice.
- A sound-bridge name like 立 (Lì, "to stand/establish") or 丽 (Lì, "beautiful") as the first character of a two-character given name — keeps the "Li-" sound while functioning as a genuine Chinese name.
The same logic applies to Rose (sound: 罗丝 Luó sī; meaning: 玫瑰 méi guī), Grace (恩典 ēn diǎn), Faith (信 xìn), and Joy (乐 lè / 欣 xīn). When the English name is a word, you get to choose between sound and meaning — and meaning usually makes the better Chinese name.
Choosing Characters That Aren't Just Phonetic Filler
Most transliterations above use "empty" characters chosen only for sound — 斯, 尔, 弗, 姆. They're fine for a passport. They're a poor choice for a name a child carries for life. When you want the English sound and a name that holds up in Chinese, look for characters that do both jobs:
- Kevin → 凯文 (Kǎi wén): 凯 means "triumph," 文 means "culture/literary." It sounds like Kevin and reads like a thoughtful name.
- Ryan → 瑞恩 (Ruì ēn): 瑞 means "auspicious," 恩 means "grace." A real name, not a label.
- Ethan → 伊桐 (Yī tóng) instead of 伊森: 桐 (paulownia tree) is a classic name character and keeps the "-n" sound.
- Emma → 艾蔓 (Ài màn) or simply pair the "Ai/An" sound with a meaning character.
This is exactly the work our naming engine automates: it takes the English sound you want to preserve, then proposes Chinese characters that match the sound and carry good meaning and tone flow — so you're not stuck picking between 卢卡斯 and a name with no English echo at all. Try it with your child's English name and surname →
Compound Surnames (复姓): When the Family Name Is Two Characters
One more thing trips up bilingual families: compound surnames (复姓, fùxìng) — Chinese surnames written with two characters instead of one. If your family name is 欧阳 or 司马, the rhythm of the full name changes, and short punchy English names usually pair better than long ones.
The most common compound surnames:
| Compound surname | Pinyin | Common romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 欧阳 | Ōuyáng | Ouyang |
| 司马 | Sīmǎ | Sima |
| 诸葛 | Zhūgě | Zhuge |
| 上官 | Shàngguān | Shangguan |
| 夏侯 | Xiàhóu | Xiahou |
| 东方 | Dōngfāng | Dongfang |
| 慕容 | Mùróng | Murong |
| 皇甫 | Huángfǔ | Huangfu |
| 令狐 | Lìnghú | Linghu |
| 宇文 | Yǔwén | Yuwen |
| 长孙 | Zhǎngsūn | Zhangsun |
| 公孙 | Gōngsūn | Gongsun |
Pairing tip: With a compound surname, the full name already has two surname syllables plus the given name, so the whole thing runs long. Short English first names (Alex, Mia, Noah, Eva) keep the bilingual full name balanced — Ouyang Mia flows; Ouyang Christopher fights itself. On the Chinese side, a single-character given name often sounds cleaner after a compound surname, since you already have plenty of syllables up front.
How to Actually Pick One
Here's the workflow I give every family:
- Decide your goal. Document/introduction use → transliterate (use the tables above). Birth-certificate name → build a real given name.
- Keep the English sound if you want it. Pick a first character that echoes the start of the English name (Kevin → 凯, Sophia → 思/索, Ethan → 伊).
- Make the second character mean something. This is what turns a label into a name.
- Check the tone flow against your surname so the full name doesn't fight itself.
If that sounds like a lot, it's exactly what BabyNameAi does in a few seconds — enter the English name and your Chinese surname, and it returns sound-matched names with meanings and tone analysis. Generate bilingual names now →
Keep Reading
- Bilingual Baby Names: 15 Chinese Names With Matching English Names — the reverse direction: Chinese names that already sound like English ones.
- 40 Unisex Chinese Names for 2026 — gender-neutral options that work across both languages.
- 30 Single-Character Chinese Names for 2026 — why one character often pairs best with English first names and compound surnames.
