Tuoba Ke was born in 483, as the second son of Emperor Xiaowen. His mother was Xiaowen's concubine Consort, Gao Zhaorong. (As he was born in the same year as his older brother Tuoba Xun, he was probably born just briefly after Tuoba Xun, whose mother was Consort Lin.) Little is known about his childhood, including whether he was raised by his mother Lady Gao or not. In 496, Xiaowen changed the name of the imperial clan from Tuoba to Yuan, and thereafter he would be known as Yuan Ke.
