De
/D-EH/
Pan-Chinese De — De (Mandarin 德 'virtue, moral character,' Cantonese dak1) is one of the Five Cardinal Confucian Virtues (五德: rén benevolence, yì righteousness, lǐ propriety, zhì wisdom, xìn faith — with dé 德 'virtue' as the umbrella). The Daodejing 道德經 'Way and Virtue Classic' is Laozi's foundational Taoist text. Foundational pan-Chinese masculine name.
See De scored for your familyMeaning & origin
De is a boy's name of Chinese origin, traditionally used in Buddhist families. The name means "Pan-Chinese De — De (Mandarin 德 'virtue, moral character,' Cantonese dak1) is one of the Five Cardinal Confucian Virtues (五德: rén benevolence, yì righteousness, lǐ propriety, zhì wisdom, xìn faith — with dé 德 'virtue' as the umbrella). The Daodejing 道德經 'Way and Virtue Classic' is Laozi's foundational Taoist text. Foundational pan-Chinese masculine name." and belongs to the Divine cluster — names rooted in sacred meaning and spiritual tradition.
Beyond its Buddhist heritage, De is also used in Atheist traditions, reflecting how this name has traveled across cultures.
Common among Chinese, Taiwanese, HongKonger, Cantonese, Singaporean, Malaysian families, De carries cultural weight that goes beyond its dictionary definition — it's a name with a story and a community.
Numerology of De
Numerology assigns each name a single-digit destiny number by summing its letter values. Different schools use different mappings — NameRoot computes both so you can see how De resonates in either tradition.
How De sounds
NameRoot scores the phonetic fit of every name against the sound of your last name. The pronunciation of De breaks down into 2 phonemes: /D-EH/. In the app, you'll see how those sounds flow with your family name across rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters.
The six signals, applied to De
NameRoot scores every name across six independent dimensions. Here's how De maps to each — install the app to see the full compatibility score for your specific family.
Names similar to De
If De resonates with you, these names live in the same world — drawn from the same tradition, sharing the same meaning, or echoing a similar sound.
From the same tradition
Other Buddhist boy names, common in Chinese families
Sharing the same meaning
Other Buddhist boy names from the Divine cluster
Names that sound similar
Buddhist boy names that open with the same syllables as De
Common questions about De
What does the name De mean?
De means "Pan-Chinese De — De (Mandarin 德 'virtue, moral character,' Cantonese dak1) is one of the Five Cardinal Confucian Virtues (五德: rén benevolence, yì righteousness, lǐ propriety, zhì wisdom, xìn faith — with dé 德 'virtue' as the umbrella). The Daodejing 道德經 'Way and Virtue Classic' is Laozi's foundational Taoist text. Foundational pan-Chinese masculine name.." It is a boy name of Chinese origin, traditionally used in Buddhist families.
Is De a boy or girl name?
De is most commonly used as a boy name.
What is the origin of the name De?
De is of Chinese origin, used in Buddhist, Atheist traditions, commonly among Chinese, Taiwanese, HongKonger families.
What is the numerology of De?
De has a Pythagorean destiny number of 9 — compassion and humanitarian service.
See how De scores for your family
NameRoot is the only baby-name app that scores every name across 6 signals against your specific family context. Download free — De is waiting.
Get NameRoot — free