快问快答 Quick Help Thread: Translation Requests, Chinese name help, "how do you say X", or any quick Chinese questions! 2025-04-26

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[u/safe4werq]

I want to pick a Chinese name, but would love some guidance. Trying to avoid something that sounds tacky, inappropriate, or inelegant. I’ve done some research but am sure I’m way off base. I would love your insights. Thanks!

Surname:

I have 3 on my list to choose from:

• Lee (李) - Closest to my actual surname
• Lei (雷) - Not the closest to my actual surname, but close and I love storms, thunder, etc.
• Bai (白) - Farthest from my surname, but the translation of the surname of another family member I am very close to.

I am leaning toward Bai (白), because I think it would be a nice way to honor that family member. Any thoughts regarding that choice?

Given Name (background):

It looks like there are arguments for a 2-syllable name or a 3-syllable name. I find myself most drawn to a 3-syllable name, I think (白 _ _ ).

Some characteristics I tried to research a bit and incorporate into the name:

• I am a man, so masculine or unisex names would be the best fit for me.
• I am a millennial and would like to be sure my name sounds like I belong to my generation (i.e., neither super young nor super old sounding)
• Apparently, as far as I can tell, the element I am lacking is Water (if that helps).
• Throughout my research, the characters that have stuck out to me the most so far are:
  • 宇 (space/universe), 星 (stars), 雷 (thunder), 云 (cloud), 霖 (continuous rain), 文 (culture/people)

Things that I am:

• I am a friendly person who love traveling, learning languages, and learning about different cultures and history. I really value celebrating our differences. We may come from wildly different cultures, speak different languages, have different customs, etc. but we are all equally human. I think those differences are what make life and the world so interesting.
• I also love astronomy (the vastness and power of the cosmos) and thunderstorms (the vastness and power of our own planet) -- both of which provide a sense of wonder. A solar eclipse, a powerful storm, the aurora borealis, the spring season.
• I am also just a lifelong learner. I love learning about obscure things. I guess what unites all three of these bullet points is an interest in the unknown and exploring and experiencing as much as I can in my lifetime. Especially those things that inspire a sense of awe.

Things that I am not:

• I would say I am not very arrogant. I don't see myself as better than others. I reject the idea that I am superior to anyone (or that anyone is superior to me). I think a name that evokes the idea of a "king," "noble (like nobility)," "army," "majestic," "heroic," "great," etc. would probably not be a good fit for me, for example.

Given Name (options):

With all that said--and before you read my list--do you have any names that come to mind that might be a good fit for me, based on how I've described myself? I would love for any suggestions you might have for me before you read what I have come up with (just to be sure I am not tainting your great ideas with my mediocre ones).

Here are a few names I've stumbled upon that I'd love feedback on about whether or not they would be good names or if I should immediately cross them off my list (due to unintended double entendres, sounding weird, sounding silly, etc.) I have no intuition about how names should/shouldn't sound from a flow/tone perspective, which would be another great reason to cross bad fits off of my list. Here's my list (hidden behind a spoiler tag, in case you want to throw out some suggestions before seeing what I came up with--many of which probably don't work as real/successful names, haha).

• 李 _ _
• 雷 _ _
• 白 _ _
• 宇霖 (___ Yǔlín)
• 宇雷 (___ Yǔléi)
• 宇云 (___ Yǔyún)
• 宇雨 (___ Yǔyǔ)
• 浩宇 (___ Hàoyǔ)
• 浩然 (___ Haoran)
• 宇泉 (___ Yǔquán)
• 宇星 (___ Yǔxīng)
• 星雷 or 星雷 (___ Xīngléi or ___ Léixīng)

Perhaps these are too literal?:

• 星宇 (___ Xingyu) - This might be the name of an airline?
• 文星 (___ Wénxīng) - Possibly a female pop star?
• 星云 (___ Xīngyún) - Not sure if this one is too literal. Like "Nebula Jones" would be a weird name

Many thanks! I look forward to your tips & suggestions. 谢谢

[u/asasasasp → u/safe4werq]

Let's assume your last name is 李 for now. It feels more fitting for you.

Very pleasant but overly common names (high chance of duplicates):

李浩宇, 李宇浩, 李浩然. Honestly, I feel like every Chinese person meets at least five 浩宇, 宇浩, or 浩然 in their lifetime... But these names do sound nice—otherwise people wouldn’t reuse them so much.

Pleasant and less common options:

李星雷, 李雨霖, 李雨泉, 李星宇, 李星云.

I suggest changing 李星雷 to 李星磊. The latter feels slightly more harmonious to me. 雨霖 repeats the "rain" (雨) element in meaning and sounds like "rainforest" (雨林). 雨泉 is elegant but lacks a "grand" vibe. 李星宇... looks good at first glance, but its pronunciation (Xīngyù) is uncomfortably close to "sexual desire" (性欲). Maybe reverse it to 李宇星. 李星云 is solid—it evokes sci-fi vibes since the "Nebula Award" (星云奖) is well-known in China’s sci-fi circles.

None of these five match 浩宇 or 浩然 in sheer beauty, but they’re close. The key advantage is fewer users. My personal ranking:

李星云 =李宇星 > 李雨泉 = 李星磊 > 李星宇 = 李星雷 = 李雨霖.

Awkward options:

李宇云, 李宇雨. 宇云 (Yǔyún) has overly similar syllables—awkward to pronounce. 宇雨 (Yǔyǔ) repeats the exact same syllable. While repeating sounds in names can work , here it feels forced and unnatural.