SingaporeMotherhood | Baby & Toddler
August 2026
How to Pick the Perfect Chinese Name for Your Baby — Plus Singapore’s Feng Shui Masters
One of the most important decisions that parents will ever make on their children’s behalf is to choose their name. For more traditional Chinese families, picking a Chinese name for your baby matters even more than an English or Christian one.
After all, as the Chinese saying goes, “赐子千金，不如教子一艺。教子一艺，不如赐子好名”. Loosely, this means: “Instead of giving your child gold, teach them a skill. Better still, bestow a good name upon them.”
Parents from English-speaking backgrounds, however, often find this a real headache. Just ask Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. He once asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to choose an honorary Chinese name for his unborn daughter. However, Xi declined, calling it too great a responsibility. The story resurfaced in 2025, when a former Facebook executive recounted it in her memoir, Careless People.
So how do other parents do it? We asked several mums and dads how they picked their child’s Chinese name. And if you would rather leave it to a professional, scroll down for our directory of geomancers and feng shui masters in Singapore.
1. Consult the Experts
Some people dismiss the old-school practice of seeking advice from a geomancer or temple elder as pure superstition. Yet it remains a surprisingly common route, and even young Singaporean parents turn to it.
The idea is simple. You provide the ba zi, or eight characters drawn from your baby’s birth data, so this can only be done after birth. The expert then analyses the data and recommends auspicious names based on Chinese metaphysics — for example, the balance of the five elements.
You can also consult at your temple, as stay-at-home mum Joy Wong did when her son was born. Both her and her husband’s families are English-speaking, so they felt a more learned person should take this on. A temple’s abbess, whom she happened to be acquainted with, provided a couple of suggestions, she recalls. “She favoured one, which she felt would complement and boost his personality, so we gave our son that name.”
Prefer to go straight to a professional instead? We have rounded up a directory of Singapore geomancers and feng shui masters who offer baby-naming services at the end of this article.
(See also: Baby’s Here? It’s Time To Do These 10 Things, Mum)
2. Do your Homework
If you’re feeling brave, you can even do it yourself. While you wait for baby’s arrival, start reading. Popular geomancers such as Dato’ Joey Yap and Grand Master Tan Khoon Yong have written widely on the subject, and a copy of the Chinese almanac is a useful companion. The internet is full of forums on the topic too.
Once your child is born, and you have the exact date and time, you can look up their ba zi in the almanac or use a free online calculator. MyBazi is a good beginner-friendly option, with a Singapore timezone setting, while Bazi Calculator offers a more detailed chart for those who want to dig deeper.
Many geomancers suggest choosing a Chinese name for your baby that is compatible with their dominant elements, while complementing both parents’ elements. Of course, that means knowing your own ba zi too.
The name should also play up your child’s strengths and offset any weaknesses. Finally, check that it has an auspicious stroke count, and read it aloud with your surname — in both Mandarin and dialect — to make sure it sounds right.
Primary school teacher Pamela Tan took a shortcut: she asked her mother-in-law, a keen student of the almanac, to name her children. Her mother-in-law picked names to match each child’s personality. Pamela recounts that her oldest was born in the year of the monkey. “We wanted this blessing from God to grow up confident in her natural habitat, hence she was named En Lin (恩琳).”
3. Continue the Generation Name Tradition
You probably know families where the children’s Chinese names share an identical character. It is a heartwarming touch, and also makes names easier to remember. But more than that, it is a centuries-old Chinese custom that lets you trace your lineage.
In the past, many dialect clans used a generation name to mark each succeeding generation. A family would adopt or compose a poem, and each generation then took the next word from it. The tradition applied only to boys, since girls would marry and take their husband’s surname. Today, however, many families use a separate set of characters for girls.
Elaine Lim’s Hainanese in-laws still keep the practice. “All of my son’s male cousins have the character ‘Lim’ in their names,” she explains, “and his father and grandfather both have a ‘water body’ in theirs.” So the couple played with options until one sounded right. They finally settled on Lim Chuen (林泉), which evokes the calm of a spring running through a forest.
(See also: What’s Your Child’s Ideal Career Path Based on Their Chinese Zodiac Sign?)
4. Follow your Heart
Not every parent leans on tradition. Many simply choose a Chinese name that feels, looks, and sounds right — and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Senior engineer Wong YY, a mother of two, is refreshingly blunt. “I don’t really care about such traditions, so I focused on the meaning of the words.” She named her first child Le Yan (乐妍), in the hopes that every word she says will bring joy. Her second daughter is Le Jing (乐靖), meaning joy and peace. She also factored in names her girls would find easy to write.
Public service officer Chong Poh Choo and her husband felt the same when naming their son. They chose Yi Han (义涵) for the qualities they hope he will grow into: righteousness (正义), and good character with substance (内涵). “We didn’t consult anyone,” she says. “Daddy and mummy decided for Oliver.”
Engage Singapore’s Geomancers & Feng Shui Masters to Pick a Chinese Name for Your Baby
Ready to bring in a professional? The geomancers and feng shui masters below all offer baby-naming services in Singapore. Many do more too. Some select an auspicious date and time for a planned caesarean, so the birth chart starts on a favourable footing. Others craft a tai mao bi (胎毛笔) — a keepsake calligraphy brush made from your baby’s first haircut. Browse the list below to find one who fits your family.
Chua Geomancy Consultancy (Master Ricky Chua)
Rates Enquire for rates
Where #03-14 Hong Lim Complex, 531 Upper Cross Street
Web chuageomancy.com
CK Geomancy Consultancy (Master Wilson Ng)
Rates Enquire for rates
Where 165 Bukit Merah Central, #07-3675
Web ckgeomancy.com.sg
CM Centre (Master Andy Tan & Master Shawn Yuen)
Rates $188
Where #03-13 Woodlands Bizhub, 190 Woodlands Industrial Park E5
Web cmcentre.sg
Destiny Asia Global Consultancy (Master Jo Ching & Master Lester Tan)
Rates Enquire for rates
Where #17-04 GB Building, 143 Cecil Street
Web masterfengshui.com
Feng Shui Master Sherwin Tng
Rates From $338
Where #03-05 Oxley Tower, 138 Robinson Road
Web fengshuimaster-singapore.com
Fengshui Master Eric Lim
Rates From $268
Web fengshuilim.com
Fengshui Master Liang
Rates Enquire for rates
Where #08-51 Midview City, 20 Sin Ming Lane
Web fengshuimasterliang.com
(See also: Make a ‘Tai Mao Bi’ with Baby’s First Haircut)
House of Feng Shui by Master Ken Koh
Rates From $500
Where 6 Marina Boulevard, #03-308
Web hofs.sg
Huat Sing Baby Souvenir Chinese Naming Centre (Master Wan Fann)
Rates From $118
Where #02-08 Primz Bizhub, 21 Woodlands Close
Web babysouvenir.com.sg
Huaxia E-Naming Centre (Master Fu Qian Loong)
Rates From $128
Where 13 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, #03-05
Web taimaobi.com
Hui Master International Geomancy
Rates Enquire for rates
Where 82 Marine Parade Central, #01-604
Web huimaster.co
Jing Zi Long Geomancy Services (Master Chen Yiming)
Rates From $120
Where #01-26 Centropod@Changi, 80 Changi Road
Web jingzilong.com
Jiu Yun Tang Feng Shui Consultancy (Master Zhu Yixin)
Rates Enquire for rates
Web yixinfengshui.com
Kang Li Feng Shui (Master Clement Lim)
Rates $488
Where #01-08/24/25 Fu Lu Shou Complex, 149 Rochor Road
Web kanglifengshui.com
Kevin Foong Consulting Group
Rates $688
Web kevinfoongcg.com
KX International Geomancy (Grand Master Justin Neo)
Rates Enquire for rates
Where #03-01/04 Tai Seng Point, 11 Irving Place
Web kx.com.sg
Loshi Feng Shui Consultancy (Master Jeff Lo)
Rates $388
Where 32 New Market Road, #03-1034}
Web loshifengshui.net
Master Jason Feng Shui & Astrology Consultancy
Rates $230
Where #B1-47 City Gate, 371 Beach Road
Web masterjasonfengshui.com
Moon FengShui Consulting (Master Vivian Tay)
Rates $488
Where #25-72 WCEGA Tower, 21 Bukit Batok Crescent
Web moonfengshui.com.sg
MZ玄 Fengshui Mastery (Master Alvin Sai)
Rates $398
Where #06-76 Midview City, 22 Sin Ming Lane
Web fengshuimasteryacademy.com
One Fengshui Consultancy (Master Tan Wee Keong)
Rates Enquire for rates
Where #09-29 Northstar@AMK, 7030 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5
Web onefengshuiconsultancy.com
(See also: Full Moon: Celebrating One of Baby’s First Milestones)
Sean Chan Chinese Metaphysics Consulting Group
Rates $788
Web masterseanchan.com
SG Baby Name by Master SC Chan
Rates $238
Web sgbabyname.com
Victor Li Modern Geomancy
Rates Enquire for rates
Where #02-12 Fu Lu Shou Complex, 149 Rochor Road
Web lisfengshui.com
Way Fengshui Group (led by Grand Master Tan Khoon Yong)
Rates From $188
Where #02-10/11 Fu Lu Shou Complex, 149 Rochor Road
Web wayfengshui.com
Yi Modern Fengshui (Master Rain Goh)
Rates Enquire for rates
Web yimodernfengshui.com
Yuan Zhong Siu Feng Shui Consultancy (led by Grand Master Hillary Phang)
Rates From $188
Where #01-35 Fortune Centre, 190 Middle Road | #02-03A New Tech Park, 151 Lorong Chuan
Web yuanzhongsiu.com
All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeMotherhood.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok for the latest article and promotion updates.
