can anyone point me in the direction of an extensive list or book of Chinese names? My husbands father (dec.) was Chinese from the Hokkein province, but unfortunately we don’t have any contact with the Chinese side of the family. We would like our children to have both an english and a Chinese name but I have been told that the Chinese traditionally don’t name their children after ancestors - which is a shame cause I like the idea of honoring family members. Our surname is short - ‘Li’ so we are looking for easily pronounced multi syllable names? Any suggestions?
A book I own that I recommend is Name Your [name]Baby[/name] in Chinese, by [name]Lin[/name] [name]Shan[/name] (Heian International, 1988). The book is now out of print, but you can get a used paperback copy for as little as $8.20 through Amazon.com’s Marketplace.
Here is the description from the back of the book: “This practical guide – the first of its kind – is designed to help Chinese parents to make the perfect choice in naming their children. Over 900 propitious words, in simplified characters and hanyu pinyin, are arranged alphabetically for easy reference. The meanings of these words are explained in English, and at least seven examples of names are given for each word. To help parents even further, there is a section that gives a brief description of the twelve lunar animal signs and names compatible with a child’s animal sign. In this latest edition, there is also a section which provides Chinese equivalents in English names.”
There are approximately 6,300 names in this book, and all names are marked with an “M” or “F” (to indicate a boy’s or girl’s name) or left unmarked (to indicate a name for either boy or girl). Each name is given in Chinese characters, as well as in English.
It’s one of the best books on Chinese names that I’ve found.
– [name]Nephele[/name]
Wow - thank you! I haven’t been able to find anything like that here in Australia.
I’ll check out Amazon now 
I’d love to hear the names you come up with. It would be fascinating! Sorry I don’t know any.