GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 93

钱

钱 is read as qián.

Pinyin

qián

Script forms

Simplified 钱 · Traditional 錢

Basic meaning

money; coin

Five element

Metal

Origin

Time: Western Zhou official/place tradition; Western Zhou tradition, 1046-771 BCE

Place: Qian office/place traditions in the Zhou central plains

Origin note

A major Qian surname tradition connects the name with an official or place layer written Qian, often explained through Qianfu traditions in later surname books. The page keeps the money meaning visible but does not reduce the origin to currency.

Historical figures

钱镠 (Qian Liu)

852-932 CE · founder of Wuyue

The founder of the Wuyue kingdom in the Five Dynasties period.

钱钟书 (Qian Zhongshu)

1910-1998 CE · writer and scholar

A major modern writer and scholar.

Sources checked