Cantonese personal names follow the broader Chinese pattern: a one-syllable family name first, then a one- or two-character given name. Given names are built from monosyllabic morphemes with concrete meanings such as “eternal” (Wing 永), “great” (Wai 偉), “beautiful” (Mei 美), “excellent” (Ka 嘉), or “literary” (Man 文). Many families use a shared generational character for siblings or patrilineal cousins. Cantonese preserves entering-tone finals, so many syllables end in -p, -t, or -k, and this appears in romanizations like Lok, Kit, or Chak. Initials such as gw-, kw-, and ng- are common. Syllable-final nasals -m, -n, -ng are frequent.
Romanization varies: Jyutping and Yale mark contrasts between unaspirated and aspirated stops (b/p, d/t, g/k), but everyday Hong Kong spellings often omit tones and use established forms like Chan, Cheung, Wong, and Leung. Hyphens or spaces sometimes separate the two given-name syllables (for example Ka-yan or Ka Yan). In Hong Kong and diaspora communities, an English given name is often used alongside the Cantonese legal name, reflecting mixed modern usage rather than a single fixed pattern.
| Name | Meaning | Origins | Gender | Popularity (last 10y) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kam | Varies by origin - commonly a short form whose meanings include 'sweet' or 'gold' (Chinese), 'perfection' (from Kamal), or 'work' (Indic root). | Arabic, Cantonese, Chinese, English, Punjabi, Scottish | Boy | 447 #1 | |
| Man | Meaning varies by origin: from Sanskrit root meaning 'mind/heart'; from Chinese characters with senses such as 'literature/culture' (文), 'ten thousand' (万) or 'full/satisfied' (满); also used as a short form of names like Manuel. | Cantonese, Chinese, English, Sanskrit, Vietnamese | Boy | 100 #2 | |
| Lo | Usually a short form or pet name for longer names (e.g., Lola, Logan, Lorelei). As a Cantonese transliteration of the Chinese surname 羅 (Luo), it is historically associated with the character meaning 'net' or 'to catch'. | Cantonese, Chinese, Dutch, English, Scandinavian | Unisex | 26 #3 | |
| Koh | Varies by origin and characters. Commonly from Korean/Chinese 高 meaning 'high, tall'; in Japanese the meaning depends on the kanji (examples: 孝 'filial piety', 幸 'happiness', 浩 'vast'); in Thai (เกาะ) 'koh' means 'island' (used in place names and nicknames). | Cantonese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai | Unisex | 10 #4 | |
| Chik | Varies by origin. In Cantonese, 'Chik' is a phonetic spelling of different Chinese characters (meaning depends on the specific character). As an Igbo short form of Chike it relates to 'God's power'. As an English nickname it can evoke 'young bird' or serve as a diminutive form of names like Charles. | Cantonese, English, Igbo | Unisex | — | |
| Chim | Vietnamese: 'bird'. In Chinese usage it is typically a romanization of various surnames or given-name syllables; meanings vary by character. | Cantonese, Chinese, English, Vietnamese | Unisex | — | |
| Choo | Circuit; all around | Cantonese, Chinese | Boy | — | |
| Eu | Varies by origin: Greek prefix eu- = 'good, well'; Chinese surname 余 = 'surplus, remainder'; in Korean 'Eu' is a syllable/vowel (으) and has no standalone meaning without hanja. | Cantonese, Chinese, Greek, Korean | Unisex | — | |
| Hon | Han state; rooster | Cantonese, Chinese | Boy | — | |
| Ka-Wai | Cantonese: depends on Chinese characters - commonly 家偉 ('family/home' + 'great' = 'family greatness') or 嘉偉 ('excellent' + 'great'). Hawaiian: 'ka wai' = 'the water'. | Cantonese, Hawaiian | Boy | — | |
| Lae | Generally 'point' or 'headland' (Hawaiian); otherwise a rare/variant form related to Lai/Lay - meaning depends on origin | Cantonese, Chinese, Vietnamese | Unisex | — | |
| Lau | Hawaiian: 'leaf' or 'many'; Cantonese: romanization of the Chinese surname 劉 (Liu); Danish: diminutive of Laurentius/ Laurence. | Cantonese, Danish, Hawaiian, Scandinavian | Unisex | — | |
| Lin Yew | Lin (林) = 'forest'; Yew can correspond to several characters meaning 'glory/shine', 'friend', 'protect', or 'abundance' - exact meaning depends on the Chinese characters chosen | Cantonese, Chinese | Unisex | — | |
| Pakho | Likely from Chinese characters such as 柏 (pak, 'cypress') + 豪 (ho, 'grand; heroic'), roughly 'noble/magnificent hero.' | Cantonese | Boy | — | |
| Pui | Thai: 'fluff', 'tuft' or 'cotton', commonly used as an affectionate nickname. Cantonese/Chinese: a romanization for various Chinese characters (e.g., 裴, 佩); exact meaning depends on the character and usage (surname or given-name element). | Cantonese, Thai | Unisex | — | |
| Sammo | Three hairs | Cantonese, Chinese | Boy | — | |
| Seto | Japanese: 'strait' or 'channel' (瀬戸). Chinese/Cantonese: variant romanization of the two-character surname 司徒 (Situ), historically an official title meaning 'minister/administrator'. | Cantonese, Chinese, Japanese | Unisex | — | |
| Tik | Varies by language: in Chinese characters it can mean 'enlighten/advance' (迪) or be an ancient tribal name (狄); in Slavic contexts related to Tikhon; in Southeast Asia often a short/familiar name without a fixed lexical meaning. | Cantonese, Chinese, Khmer, Slavic, Thai, Vietnamese | Unisex | — | |
| Tsoi | As a surname it traces to Chinese characters rather than a literal given-name meaning; commonly associated with 崔 ('high, lofty, prominent') or historically with 蔡 (name of an ancient state). | Cantonese, Chinese, Korean | Unisex | — | |
| Yat-Sen | From 逸 (leisure/outstanding) + 仙 (immortal) - 'outstanding/leisured immortal' | Cantonese | Boy | — |
Aggregated births across United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany for every Cantonese-origin name in our dataset.
