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Downloadable · one payment · yours to keep
The hard part isn’t
finding a name.
It’s choosing one.
The free lists tell you what the names mean. This is how you pick between them — how a Chinese name is actually built, whether yours sounds like a name to a native ear, and the four ways a good-looking choice goes wrong.
One payment. No subscription, no expiry. You only name someone once.
Not sure yet? See three real pages, free
Every name, by theme
The shortlist worksheet
12-page guideJust after the names themselves? The free Chinese names list has all 300 with meanings and audio.
Hear it before you buy
A name lives in the ear, not on the page. Tap any of these to hear it — the same recordings that arrive in your download. Every one of the 100 names and 124 surnames is recorded at natural speed and again slowed.
Six of 100. Play the surname, then the given name, then say the two together — if you hesitate, that hesitation is information.
Which half is the family name?
This is the thing that catches everyone out, and it changes every decision after it. In Chinese the family name comes first and is almost always one character. The given name follows, one or two characters, assembled from ordinary words for what they mean — there is no fixed list of names the way there is in English.
That freedom is exactly why it goes wrong. A character chosen because it looks beautiful on the page, without checking how it is said or what it means in ordinary use, is the single most common mistake. The kit opens here, because everything else sits on top of it.
What’s in the kit
One zip, about 5.1 megabytes. Nothing to install and nothing to sign up for.
The guide
12 pages, printable A4
How a name is built, the sound test, the four ways a name goes wrong, and a worksheet for getting from a shortlist to one name.
- 50 girls’ and 50 boys’ names by theme
- All 124 common surnames
- A shortlist worksheet
- A 田字格 (tiΓ‘nzΓ¬gΓ©) page for writing the name you pick
The audio
444 MP3 files
Every name and surname, twice over — natural speed and slowed. The same native voice used across WillyChina.
- Separate natural and slow folders
- An index mapping every file to its name
- Plays on any device, no app required
What is not in it
No numerology
No stroke counts, no lucky numbers, no auspicious readings. Contested even in China, and not something to sell to someone naming a child.
- What the characters actually mean
- How it sounds next to your surname
- Whether a Chinese speaker hears a name
Who this is for
A good fit if
- You are naming a child and want to get it right rather than guess
- You are choosing a Chinese name for yourself and want one that does not sound odd
- You have a shortlist and cannot decide
- You want to hear it said properly before you commit
Probably not if
- You only want a list of names — the free pages already do that
- You are after numerology or a fortune reading
- You want someone to choose for you; this helps you decide, it does not decide
- You are naming into a family with a generational character — ask them first
Questions
Is this a subscription?
No. It is one payment. The files are yours to keep and re-download on any device, forever.
What exactly do I get?
One zip, about 5.1 megabytes: a 12-page PDF, 444 MP3 files covering every name and surname at natural speed and slowed, and an index mapping each file to its name and meaning.
The names are already free on this site. Why pay?
The free pages and the free printable give you three hundred names and what they mean, and they stay free. There are more names there than in the kit. What the kit adds is everything that is not a list: how a Chinese name is assembled, the sound test against your own family name, the four ways a name goes wrong, all 124 surnames with audio at natural speed and slowed, and a worksheet for getting from a shortlist to one.
Is this numerology, stroke counts or lucky numbers?
No, and deliberately not. There is a whole industry selling stroke-count numerology and auspicious readings; it is contested even in China and this kit does not trade in it.
I am naming a baby. Is that what this is for?
Yes, and equally for adults choosing a Chinese name for themselves — the tests are the same. If you are naming into a Chinese family that keeps a generational character, ask them before deciding; the kit explains what that is.
Why do two surnames have no audio?
Because a few Chinese surnames are read differently from the everyday word written with the same character. 曾 is Zēng as a surname but céng in ordinary use, and our speech engine says the ordinary word. Rather than teach you to mispronounce a family name, those two recordings are left out and the correct reading printed.
Do I need to read Chinese?
No. Everything is given in characters, pinyin and English, and every name is recorded.
A really great resource that helped me find my Chinese name! Very convenient and affordable too.Suzy · Australia
See three real pages first
Not a mock-up and not a marketing render — the cover, the page that does the actual work, and a real names spread, exactly as they print. No email required.
You only name someone once
The guide, every name and surname, and the audio. One payment, and it is yours.
Instant download · no subscription · yours to keep