What each card shows
A Chinese name puts the family name first, then a given name of one or two characters. Each card shows the name in simplified characters and in traditional ones. Zhang is 张 and 張, for instance. Toned pinyin is the reading; the tones change the meaning. The pool holds 280 given names and 79 family names. Details shows the meaning of each character, and the character glosses use the Unicode Unihan database; see editorial standards.
Modern, classical and imperial court
Modern names sound like people born now, such as Xinyi 欣怡, joyful and cheerful, and Zixuan 梓萱. Classical names often come from old poetry. Huiyin 徽音 is drawn from the Book of Odes and means beautiful sound. Imperial court names fit palace stories. Many classical names also suit fantasy about martial heroes and immortals, such as Lingxi 泠汐 and Jianying 剑影, sword shadow. Do not mix a modern name into a cultivation story; it breaks the mood.
Pitfalls
Two names can share one pinyin and use different characters, as with Ziqing 梓晴 and 子晴. Always copy the characters with the pinyin. Some cards carry Check meaning: Jingxian 惊弦 echoes an idiom about a bird scared by a bowstring. Some families give brothers and paternal cousins one shared character, a generation name. For a courtesy name, see the courtesy name generator, and for surnames see Chinese last names.