Adam in Chinese
How to write Adam in Chinese, how to say it, and real Chinese names picked for it.
Adam, written by sound
亚当
Yàdāng
- 亚yà
- 当dāng
This is how Adam is written by sound: in the news, on maps and in translated books. Each character is there for its sound, so their meanings don't add up to anything.
But it isn't a Chinese name. Chinese parents choose a name for what it means, like the ones below.
Real Chinese names for Adam
None of these sounds quite like Adam, but each one is a real name Chinese parents give, with a meaning of its own. Tap the buttons to hear a character, watch it written, or write it yourself.
Classic name
书言Shūyán
books and words
shū
books
yán
words
Classic name
慕言Mùyán
one who admires good words
mù
to admire
yán
words
Classic name
晏清Yànqīng
peaceful and clear
yàn
peaceful, serene
qīng
clear, pure
Stroke order follows the mainland China standard; a few characters are written differently in Taiwan.
Get your own Chinese name
Adam, get eight real names in the style you like (classic, poetic, wuxia…) and pick the one that feels like you. It takes a minute.
How Chinese names work
The family name comes first, and it is almost always one character: 王 Wáng, 李 Lǐ, 林 Lín. A few have two, like 欧阳 Ōuyáng.
The given name follows: one or two characters, chosen for what they mean. A virtue, a flower, a wish from the parents.
So with a family name in front, 书言 becomes a full name such as 林书言 (Lín Shūyán).
About the name Adam
In the US, Adam was the 40th most popular boys’ name of the 1990s. In England and Wales it was number 16 in 1996 and is number 26 in 2025.
Sources: US Social Security Administration, Office for National Statistics (UK).