Zihan
Meaning of Zihan
Zihan is a unisex appellation of Chinese provenance whose semantic depth depends upon the choice of logographs—commonly 紫涵 (“purple” + “to encompass”) or 子涵 (“child” + “to encompass”)—thus conveying an amalgam of refinement and expansiveness. In Standard Mandarin, it is transcribed as Zǐhán, featuring a third tone on the first syllable and a second tone on the second, whereas in Anglo-American contexts tonal distinctions are generally neutralized, resulting in the bisyllabic stress pattern zee-HAHN (/ziːˈhæn/), which aligns with prevalent English phonotactic conventions. Within the United States, Zihan has appeared intermittently within the Social Security Administration’s top 1000 names, occupying positions between 939th and 961st with no more than single-digit annual occurrences, a statistic that underscores its relative rarity beyond Chinese-speaking communities. The name’s technical structure—comprising two morphemes in a CV.CVC schema—facilitates effortless integration across linguistic boundaries, making it a precise and culturally resonant option for parents seeking a cross-cultural appellation.
Pronunciation
Chinese
- Pronunced as zee-HAHN (/ziːˈhæn/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
