Chinese name romanization

Chinese name spellings by dialect

One character is spelled differently by dialect romanization, and one spelling can stand for several characters. The dialect labels here always describe the spelling, never a person.

Labelled records: 1,336
More than one label: 484
Romanizations: 6
Most records: Hokkien

Romanizations in our records

Hokkien 471 · 35%
Cantonese 246 · 18%
Hakka 142 · 11%
Teochew 118 · 8.8%
Mandarin 340 · 25%
Foochow 19 · 1.4%

Chinese names, syllables and surnames by the romanization of their spelling. 484 records match more than one romanization and are split equally.

Spellings in the JPN ‘Cina’ tables by decade

Boy

Hokkien
Cantonese
Hakka
Teochew
Mandarin
No romanization (English/Western names)

Cantonese spellings peak in the 1980s (67%); from the 1990s, English names dominate.

Show the table

Decade	Hokkien	Cantonese	Hakka	Teochew	Mandarin	No romanization (English/Western names)
1940	28%	26%	29%	12%	5.4%	0%
1950	32%	30%	24%	9.7%	4.2%	0%
1960	25%	45%	10%	19%	0%	0%
1970	22%	53%	9.9%	15%	0%	0%
1980	22%	67%	5.9%	5.3%	0%	0%
1990	0%	0%	0%	0%	8.4%	92%
2000	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%
2010	1.9%	0%	0%	1.9%	1.9%	94%

Girl

Hokkien
Cantonese
Hakka
Teochew
Mandarin
No romanization (English/Western names)

Hakka spellings peak in the 1950s (41%); Mandarin pinyin reaches 66% in the 2010s.

Show the table

Decade	Hokkien	Cantonese	Hakka	Teochew	Mandarin	No romanization (English/Western names)
1940	23%	23%	37%	12%	5.6%	0%
1950	26%	19%	41%	11%	3.6%	0%
1960	44%	22%	19%	15%	0%	0%
1970	22%	29%	8.1%	11%	29%	0%
1980	5%	45%	0%	5%	45%	0%
1990	8.3%	14%	5.4%	5.6%	44%	23%
2000	0%	0%	0%	0%	64%	36%
2010	2.5%	0%	0%	2.5%	66%	29%

Share of the spellings in the JPN ‘Cina’ tables (top 10 names per sex and decade), by the romanization each spelling follows in our records. A spelling that follows more than one romanization is split equally. These are shares of spellings, never of people or dialect speakers. Source: JPN via data.gov.my (CC BY 4.0)

One character, five spellings

Character	Hokkien	Cantonese	Hakka	Teochew	Mandarin	Foochow
陳	Tan	Chan, Chun	Chin	Tan, Tang	Chen	Ding, Ting
張	Teo, Tiong, Teoh	Cheong	Chong	Teo	Zhang	Tiong
黃	Ooi, Wee, Ng	Wong	Wong, Bong	Ng	Huang	–
郭	Kok, Koay, Kwek	Kok, Kuok	Kok	Kwek	–	Kuok
鍾	Cheng	Chung	Chong, Choong, Chung	Cheng	Zhong	–
蘇	Soh, Saw, Soo	Soo	Soo	Soh, Soo	Su	–
鄭	Tay	Cheng	Chang	Tay	Zheng	–
丁	Teng	Ting	–	Teng	Ding	Ding, Ting
宋	Song	Soong, Sung	Soong, Sung	Song	Song	–
林	Lim	Lam	Lim	Lim	–	Ling
譚	Tan, Tham, Thum	Tham	Tham, Thum	Thum	Tan	–
唐	Tong	Tong	Tong	Tang	Tang	–
魏	Wee, Gooi, Gwee	–	Ngwe	Gwee, Ngwe	Wei	–
吳	Goh, Go, Gho	Ng	Ng	Goh, Gho	–	–

Surnames with spellings in at least three romanizations, from our surname records. One spelling can appear under more than one dialect.

Character	Hokkien	Cantonese	Hakka	Teochew	Mandarin	Foochow
明	Beng, Meng	Ming, Meng	Min	Meng	Ming	Ming
光	Kong	Kwong	Kong	Kwang, Kuan, Kuang	Guang	Kuong
芳	Hong	Fong	Fong	Huang	Fang	Huong
香	Hiong, Heong, Hiang	Heong, Heung	Hiong	Hiang	Xiang	Hiong
文	Boon	Wen, Mun	Voon, Ven	Boon	Wen	–
偉	Wei, Wee, Wooi, Oei, Ooi	Wei, Wai, Wooi	Wee, Wooi, Vee	Wee	Wei	–
怡	Yee, Ee, Eei	Yee, Yi, Eei	Yee, Yii	Yee	Yi	–
志	Chee, Chi	Chee, Chi, Tze	Chee, Chi	Chee	Zhi	–
威	Wei, Wee, Oei, Ooi, Wooi	Wei, Wai	Vee, Wooi	Wee	Wei	–
良	Liang, Leong, Liong	Leong, Leung	Leong, Liong	Liang	Liang	–
亮	Liang, Leong, Liong	Leong, Leung	Leong, Liong	Liang	Liang	–
清	Cheng, Chia, Ching	Ching	Chin	Cheng, Ching	Qing	–
金	Kim	Kam	Kim	Kim	Jin	–
瑞	Swee, Sui, Soi	Sui	Sui	Swee, Sui	Rui	–

The most used given-name characters, with their syllable spellings in each romanization.

Choose a romanization

Hokkien 668 records
Pe̍h-ōe-jī · Tan, Lee, Lim, Ng
Cantonese 363 records
Jyutping · Lee, Wong, Chong, Ng
Hakka 246 records
Pha̍k-fa-sṳ · Lee, Lim, Wong, Chong
Teochew 234 records
Peng’im · Tan, Lim, Ng, Goh
Mandarin 387 records
Hanyu Pinyin · Tan, Chen, Cheng, Ling
Foochow 26 records
King, Ling, Tiong, Chieng, Chieng Hun, Chieng Jen, Ding, Hieng

Sources

Wikipedia: Pe̍h-ōe-jī · Hokkien romanization system
Wikipedia: Jyutping · Cantonese romanization system
Wikipedia: Pha̍k-fa-sṳ · Hakka romanization system
Wikipedia: Peng’im · Teochew romanization system
Wikipedia: Pinyin · Mandarin romanization system
Unicode Unihan Database · Mandarin and Cantonese character readings
Source: JPN via data.gov.my (CC BY 4.0) · JPN ‘Cina’ tables

Frequently asked questions

Why is the same surname spelled differently?

Malaysian spellings usually follow how a character is read in one dialect. 陳 is read tân in Hokkien, can4 in Cantonese and chén in Mandarin, so it is spelled Tan, Chan or Chen.

Does a spelling show someone’s dialect?

No. A spelling describes how the name was written at registration. It does not show which dialect anyone speaks, their origin or background.

How are the JPN shares worked out?

Each name in the JPN ‘Cina’ tables is matched to our record; its count is split equally across that spelling’s romanizations, then compared with that decade’s top-10 total. Source: JPN via data.gov.my (CC BY 4.0).