William in Chinese
How to write William in Chinese, how to say it, and real Chinese names picked for it.
William, written by sound
威廉
Wēilián
- 威wēi
- 廉lián
This is how William 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 William
None of these sounds quite like William, 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.
Poetic name
一苇Yīwěi
a single reed, enough to cross a river
yī
one
wěi
reed
Poetic name
未央Wèiyāng
endless
wèi
not yet
yāng
end; centre
Classic name
立言Lìyán
words that last
lì
to stand tall
yán
words
Stroke order follows the mainland China standard; a few characters are written differently in Taiwan.
Get your own Chinese name
William, 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, 一苇 becomes a full name such as 林一苇 (Lín Yīwěi).
About the name William
In the US, William was the 4th most popular boys’ name of the 2010s. In 2025 it is number 9. In England and Wales it was number 21 in 1996 and is number 25 in 2025.
Sources: US Social Security Administration, Office for National Statistics (UK).