Cheng can be a transcription of one of several Chinese surnames. Since the syllable Cheng represents different sounds in Hanyu pinyin and the Wade-Giles systems of Chinese romanization, some ambiguity will exist as to what character is represented by the letters "Cheng".

In names romanized in Wade-Giles (usually those from Taiwan), Cheng is most commonly a transcription of 鄭/郑 (pinyin Zhèng).

Further confusion arises because Wade-Giles often appears without the required apostrophes, and thus some Wade-Giles names which are properly romanized Ch'eng (such as 程) will appear as Cheng.

In the pinyin system of romanization (usually used in mainland China), Cheng will usually represent the surname 程 (pinyin Chéng).

Famous people named 鄭/郑:

• See Zheng (surname)

Famous people named 程:

• François Cheng, French writer, poet and calligrapher
• Ch'eng Mao-yün, composer