In Her Name

In Chinese culture, women are confined to traditional gender roles, and expected to embody obedience and passivity as daughters and wives. This bias extends to their names too. While boys receive names connoting strength and power, girls are often burdened with labels that reflect submissiveness and sexism.

In China, traditionally when naming children, certain names have connotations that reflect gender stereotypes, with girls being called “Quiet” and “Small” to signify demure femininity, while boys are given names like “Strong” and “Victory” to denote dominance.

A popular hashtag, #IHateMyName, has garnered over 56 million views on social media, highlighting the widespread discontent with such names.

Aiming to change the way women are named by creating 100 names reflecting the essence of femininity today, drawing inspiration from classical literature, positive connotations, and the evolving landscape of societal development.

Lux believes every woman deserves a name she can embrace with pride. Collaborating with linguistic expert Professor Liu from the University of China, we've crafted 100 new female names such as Yè Lěi (Glowing Potential) and Míng Yǔ (Awaken the Universe). Each name embodies positive and empowering connotations that can truly represent the modern Chinese woman. Leveraging symbols and metaphors from Chinese culture, we've brought these names to life visually and made them available for everyone on popular social media channels.

Our social-led campaign created a massive impact in China, where traditions are rarely questioned, achieving over 1.4 billion impressions within the country alone. Globally, the conversation couldn’t be ignored, adding another 150 million impressions.

In just the first three days, we generated $600,000 in media value through the conversations sparked across both media outlets and social platforms. More than 5 million women were introduced to the new names in this same period.

Post-campaign surveys revealed 78% of women who saw the campaign considered changing their names, with 74% agreeing that a powerful name is an advantage. Additionally, 56% expressed a desire for stronger names for their daughters.

The campaign led to a 103% surge in web searches for stronger baby names during its peak week. By April 2024, a newborn girl was named Li Rui (Resilient)—the first of many to embrace this new wave of empowerment.