1000 Most Common Last Names in Vietnam

Vietnamese (Nguy[ecirctilde]n): unexplained. This was the family name of a major Vietnamese royal dynasty.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Scottish: nickname from Old Norse trani ‘crane’.

Vietnamese (Lê): a royal or aristocratic name, the family name of the Lê Dynasty.

Vietnamese (Ph?am): unexplained.

Vietnamese (Hoàng): unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese (Bùi): unexplained. Belgian French and Dutch: from a northern French dialect variant of Bois.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese (Hu?nh): unexplained.

Vietnamese ({D-}ô~): unexplained. Chinese : possibly a variant of Du 1. Korean: variant of To.

Vietnamese (Ngô): unexplained. Chinese : variant of Ao.

Korean (Ho): there is only one Chinese character for the Ho surname. Some records indicate that there are fifty-nine Ho clans, but only four have been identified and documented. All four clans descend from the same founding ancestor. In ad 48, a sixteen-year-old Indian princess is said to have arrived by boat on the shores of Korea. The Karak Kingdom’s King Suro married the woman, and out of respect for her origins allowed the second of their ten children to retain his mother’s surname, Ho. The Ho surname is very common and is widely distributed throughout the Korean peninsula. Vietnamese (Hô`): unexplained. Chinese: variant of He.

Vietnamese (Tru'o'ng): unexplained.

Vietnamese ({D-}{aud}ng): unexplained. Chinese : The surname Dang comes from a branch of the ruling family of the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) that spread to the state of Jin and the state of Lu. The character now also means ‘political party’. German: from an old personal name Tanco, a cognate of modern German denken ‘to think’, Gedanke ‘thoughts’.

Vietnamese (Hà): unexplained. Korean: there are two Ha clans, each with a unique Chinese character. The founding ancestor of the larger Ha clan was named Ha Kong-jin and settled in the Chinju area around ad 1010. Most of the modern descendants of Ha Kong-jin live in the Kyongsang and Cholla provinces. The founding ancestor of the smaller of the two clans was named Ha Hum, and he settled in the Taegu area after emigrating from Song China some time in the early part of the twelfth century. Most of the modern descendants of Ha Hum still live in the Taegu area. Chinese : variant of Xia. English: unexplained.

Vietnamese (Du'o'ng): unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Chinese : origin unknown, although ancient accounts record its use in Guangdong and Henan provinces from an early date. The character for Mai also means ‘wheat’. Dutch, Danish, German, and French: variant of May.

Vietnamese ({D-}inh): unexplained.

Chinese : variant of Lin 1. Chinese : variant of Lan. Vietnamese (Lâm): unexplained. Dutch and North German: from a short form of the personal name Lambert. Danish: nickname for a gentle person, from Old Norse lamb ‘lamb’, or possibly for a lame man, Old Norse lami.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : there are two main branches of the Cao line. One branch comes from Cao An, a great-grandson of the emperor Zhuan Xu (26th century bc). A descendant named Cao Xie was granted the state of Zhu when the Zhou dynasty came to power in 1122 bc. When Zhu was conquered by the state of Chu, many of the Zhu aristocracy adopted a modified form of the character Zhu as their surname (see Chu), but others kept the name Cao. The origin of the other branch also involves the granting of a state at the beginning of the Zhou dynasty: in 1122 bc Zhen Duo, a son of Wen Wang, was granted the state of Cao, a name subsequently adopted by his descendants. Other Romanized forms of this name include Tso, Cho, Tsao and Chou. Vietnamese: unexplained. Portuguese (Cão) and Galician equivalent of Spanish Cano.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese ({D-}ào): unexplained.

Irish: variant of Doane. Vietnamese ({D-}oàn): unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Dutch (De Van): metonymic occupational name for a winnower or a maker of winnowing fans, from Middle Dutch van(ne) ‘fan’. English: Western English variant of Fann. Czech (Van): from a pet form of the personal name Václav, Old Czech Veceslav (see Vacek). Ukrainian: from a short form of the personal name Ivan, Slavic form of John.

Vietnamese (Lý) and Hmong: unexplained. English: variant of Lye.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Cambodian: unexplained.

Vietnamese (L{us}u): unexplained.

This form represents at least ten different Chinese family names, as well as a Korean one. Chinese : variant of Zhu 1. Chinese : from the name of an adminstrative position during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). At this time, many dukes of the Zhou dynasty, including the duke of the state of Song, established a high administrative position which may be roughly translated as ‘Chu master’. The descendants of a Song Chu master took this title as their surname. Additionally, there was an area named Chu during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) which lent its name to the people who lived there. Chinese : variant of Zhu 2. Chinese : variant of Qu 1. Chinese : from the name of the state of Chu, one of the most powerful states of the Warring States period (403–221 bc), adopted as a surname by its ruling class. Chinese : variant of Ju. Chinese : variant of Qu 2. Chinese : variant of Qu 3. Chinese : variant of Zhu 3. Chinese : variant of Zhu 4. Korean: there are two Chinese characters for the Chu surname in use in Korea. One character has only one clan associated with it (the Shinan Chu clan), and while some records indicate that the other has as many as 25, only four can be documented; all of these descended from a common ancestor, Chu Hwang, who was naturalized in 907. The Shinan Chu clan is descended from a man named Chu Cham, a direct descendant of the Chinese philosopher Chu-tze. Chu Cham migrated from China to Korea some time in the early 13th century. Chu is a fairly common surname and is found throughout the peninsula.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Du 1. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Tao. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Tu 2. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Tu 3. Chinese : variant of Chu 2. Korean: there are three Chinese characters for the Korean surname To. Of these, two are quite rare, while the third is used by at least fifteen clans. Three clans can be documented, but two of them appear to be practically extinct. Only the Söngju To clan has a significant population in Korea. The origins of the Söngju To clan are unclear. It is certain, however, that the clan was living in the Söngju area by the end of the post-Shilla Three Kingdom period.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Cambodian: unexplained.

Chinese : variant of Wu 1. Chinese : variant of Wu 4. Filipino: unexplained.

Vietnamese (Phùng): unexplained.

Vietnamese (La and Lã): two Vietnamese names, both unexplained.

Chinese : from a word meaning ‘water’ or ‘flood’. During the time of the emperors Yao and Shun in the 23rd century bc, there was a clan known as the Gonggongshi. They took the name Gong as a surname, but in order to escape their enemies, needed to change the character for their surname; by the addition of a component meaning ‘water’, the name was changed to Hong. Another legend provides a more colorful account: the Gonggongshi were a warrior people, and were able to bring about a flood. However, the emperor Yu succeeded in establishing flood control, and he banished the Gonggongshi. Descendants, in order to commemorate the ability of their ancestors to cause floods, changed their name from Gong to the word for ‘flood’, Hong. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Kang 1. Chinese : variant of Xiang 2. Chinese : variant of Hang 1. Korean: there is only one Chinese character for the Hong surname in Korea. Some sources indicate that there are 59 different Hong clans, but only four can be documented. Each of the four clans claim different founding ancestors. The oldest Hong clan’s founding ancestor, Hong Ch’on-ha, migrated to Koguryo, Korea, sometime in the first half of the seventh century. The Hong surname is a fairly common one and is found throughout the Korean peninsula.

Chinese: see Duan. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Korean: there is one Chinese character for the surname Kim. Kim is the most common Korean surname, comprising about 20 percent of the Korean population. According to some sources, there are over 600 different Kim clans, but only about 100 have been documented. Kims can be found in virtually every part of Korea. The two largest Kim clans, the Kim family of Kimhae and the Kim family of Kyongju, are descended from semi-mythological characters who lived two thousand years ago. According to legend, the Kimhae Kim family founder, Kim Suro, came in answer to a prayer offered by the nine elders of the ancient Karak Kingdom. In 42 ad, these elders met together to pray for a king. In answer to their prayer, they were sent a golden box containing six golden eggs. From the first egg emerged King Su-ro, Karak’s first king. The other five eggs became the five kings of Karak’s neighboring kingdom, Kaya. The founder of the Kim family of Kyongju, Kim Al-ji, had similar origins. In 65 ad the king of Shilla, T’alhae, heard a strange sound from a forest near the Shilla capital, Kyongju. On investigation he found a crowing white rooster standing next to a golden egg. From this egg emerged Al-ji, founder of the Kyongju Kim family and subsequent king of the Shilla Kingdom. Because Al-ji emerged from a golden egg, King T’alhae bestowed upon the child the surname Kim, which means ‘gold’. It is estimated that about half of the one hundred or so Kim clans of modern Korea are descended from the Kyongju Kim clan. Swiss German: unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of the Tu river, a tributary of the Yangtze. Chinese : from one of the characters in the name of the ancient city of Zoutu. The legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc) used this city as a military base. Both characters of the city name, Zou (see Zou) and Tu, were adopted as surnames. Chinese: variant of Du. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : Cantonese variant of Chow 1. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Zou. Chinese : Min variant of Chao 4. Chinese : variant of Qiu 3. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : from an honorific title borne by a prince of the state of Zhao during the Warring States period (403–221 bc). He was awarded the title Noble Ma Fu after repeatedly distinguishing himself as a general, and subsequently, his descendants adopted part of the honorific title, Ma, as their surname. Korean: there are two Chinese characters for the surname Ma, only one of which is frequent enough to be treated here. Two clans use this character: the Mokch’on clan and the Changhung clan. The founding ancestor of the Korean Mokch’on Ma clan migrated to Korea from China during the Han Commanderies period (1st century bc). The Ma clans played fairly important roles in the formation of the pre-Shilla Paekche kingdom. The records are not consistent, but it seems that originally the Ma surname was Yong and that either the Koryo king T’aejo (941–943) or the Shilla king Kyongsun (927–935) changed the name to Ma. Cambodian: unexplained. Hawaiian: unexplained. Tongan: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

English (mostly East Anglia): unexplained. Vietnamese (Ông): unexplained. Chinese : variant of Wang 1. Indonesian: unexplained. Filipino: unexplained.

Vietnamese (Qu{a?}ng): unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of the ancient state of Lu, in present-day Henan province. This is one of the oldest Chinese surnames, going back well over 4000 years to an adviser of the founding emperor of the Xia dynasty, Yu (2205–2198 bc). The adviser was enfeoffed with the state of Lu, and the family held it throughout the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties, eventually adopting the name of the state, Lu, as their surname. Chinese : from area called Lu, in present-day Shandong province. During the Warring States period (403–221 bc), a descendant of previous dukes of the state of Qi became the high counselor of that state, and was granted the area of Lu. His descendants later adopted the place name Lu as their surname. Chinese : from the name of the city of Lu in the state of Qi. During the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). The youngest son of a duke of Qi was granted the city of Lu, and his descendants adopted the place name Lu as their surname. Chinese : from the name of a different state of Lu, a large area covering parts of present-day Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shandong provinces. This was granted to Zhou Gong, Duke of Zhou, a famous figure in Chinese history, as he was revered by Confucius as the prototypical good adviser. The fourth son of Wen Wang, Zhou Gong was the younger brother and chief adviser of Wu Wang, the founder of the Zhou dynasty. After Wu Wang died in 1116 bc, his 13-year old son succeeded him, but actual power was held by Zhou Gong, acting as regent. Zhou Gong’s descendants later adopted the name of the state as their surname. Chinese : from the name of the Lushui river. The characters for the river name contained a written component meaning ‘water’; this component was dropped, leaving only the current character for Lu, which means ‘street’. Chinese : from the name of an area known as Wulu ‘Five Deer’, which was granted to a senior adviser of the state of Wei. His descendants adopted Lu as their surname.

Chinese : from the name of the ancient country known in China as AnXi, located in present-day Uzbekistan. Traditional accounts record that the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc) had a grandson named An (the character for ‘peace’) who moved to the far west to establish AnXi, losing contact with the Middle Kingdom. When the people of AnXi decided to return to China during the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 ad), they adopted their tribal name, An, as their surname. Korean: there is only one Chinese character for the An surname; it means ‘peace’. Some sources indicate that there are 109 An clans, but only six can be documented. All had one common founding ancestor, named Yi W{ou}n, who migrated from China to Shilla Korea in ad 807. Yi’s three sons played a major role in resisting Japanese aggression during the reign of the Shilla King Ky{ou}ngmun (861–875) and received the surname as a reward from the king. It is now quite a common Korean surname and can be found throughout the peninsula.

Chinese : from the name of Da Ao, a teacher of the legendary emperor Zhuan Xu (26th century bc).

Vietnamese: unexplained. Other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

African: unexplained. Compare Bah. Arabic: from a shortened form of Aba, accusative case of Abu ‘father’. Vietnamese: unexplained. Chinese : from the name of the kingdom of Ba, which existed in Sichuan during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Descendants of some of the ruling class adopted the name of the kingdom as their surname. This character still has as one of its meanings an ancient name for Sichuan province. Researchers believe that another branch of the Ba clan came from Shanxi province during the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 ad). Additionally, when Manchus and Mongolians came from the north to China several hundred years ago, many adopted the surname Ba.

Vietnamese (Quách): unexplained.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic hayy ‘alive’. Al-Hayy, ‘the Living’, is one of the attributes of Allah. Chinese : from the name of Hai Qun, a senior minister of the state of Wei during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). The character for this name also means ‘ocean’. Vietnamese: unexplained. Jewish (Israeli): ornamental name from Hebrew chai ‘alive’, ‘vivid’.

Chinese : variant of Tang 2. Chinese : variant of Tang 3. Chinese : from a modification of the character Zhong (). In the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc), there existed a senior adviser whose name was Zhonggu. Much later, in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 ad), some descendants settled along a river that became known as the Tong Family river. As the Manchus moved southwards, some took up residence by this river and they too adopted Tong as their surname. Chinese : from Lao Tong, the ‘style name’ given to a son of Zhuan Xu, legendary emperor of the 26th century bc. Two of his sons became important advisers to the next emperor, Ku. Some descendants of Lao Tong adopted a character from his style name as their surname. Chinese: see also Dong. English: metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of tongs (Old English tang(e)), or a habitational name from one of the places named with this word (there are examples in Lancashire, Shropshire, and West Yorkshire), from their situation by a fork in a road or river, considered as resembling a pair of tongs. English: topographic name for someone who lived on a tongue of land, or a habitational name from a place named with this word (Old English tunge, Old Norse tunga), for example Tonge in Leicestershire. Alternatively, Reaney suggests that it may have been a nickname from the same word in the sense of a chatterbox or a scold. Dutch: from a short form of the personal name Antonius (see Anthony). It could also be from Dutch tong ‘tongue’ and hence a nickname for a chatterbox or scold, or possibly a shortening of Van Tongeren, a habitational name for someone from Tongeren in the province of Gelderland.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

German: Sorbian kinship term meaning ‘uncle’. East Asian: unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of a state called Lai (in present-day Henan province), which existed during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). Descendants of the ruling class of this state adopted its name as their surname. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Li 2. Vietnamese: unexplained. Polish: dialect variant of the personal name Lew ‘lion’ (see Lew 2).

Chinese: there are three different surnames that are Romanized in pinyin as Bao. Other Romanizations include Bau, Pao, and Pau. Chinese : this character also means ‘abalone’, but the name comes from an old place name. The area of Bao was granted to a chief counselor of the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). His son took the place name as his surname and was called Bao Shuya. Bao Shuya was famous for his lofty moral character and was skilled at delegating authority, eventually becoming the first ‘Chief King’ of the Spring and Autumn period. Chinese : this Chinese character means ‘to wrap’ or ‘package’. The name is derived from the name of Shen Baoxu. Shen Baoxu was a senior official who lived 2500 years ago in the state of Chu. When the state of Chu was attacked by the state of Wu, Shen Baoxu went to the State of Qin to beg for aid. There, he reportedly cried for seven days and nights until the duke of Qin was moved to help rescue the state of Chu. Chinese : this character means ‘(violently) sudden’. It comes from the name of Bao Xingong, a duke during the Yin dynasty (1401–1122 bc).

Chinese : variant of Hong 1. Chinese : variant of Kong 2. Chinese : variant of Xiong 1. Chinese : variant of Hong 5.

German (von Thien): habitational name from Thiene near Bramsche, named from tin ‘mud’, ‘bog’.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : variant of Lu 2. Chinese : variant of Luo 1. Chinese : variant of Lao 2. Vietnamese (Lô˜, L[ocircdotu]): unexplained. Variant spelling of German Loh. Variant spelling of English Low. Swedish: unexplained.

The Romanization Chi represents at least thirteen different Chinese surnames and a Korean one. Chinese : this character means ‘pond’ and is found in names of lakes and areas surrounding lakes. As many Chinese surnames originated in place names (often containing the word ‘pond’), so the surname Chi developed naturally from the word for ‘pond’. Chinese : variant of Ji 1. Chinese : variant of Qi 1. Chinese : variant of Qi 2. Chinese : variant of Ji 2. Chinese : variant of Ji 3. Chinese : variant of Qi 3. Chinese : variant of Ji 4. Chinese : variant of Ji 5. Chinese : variant of Ji 6. Chinese : variant of Zhi. Chinese : variant of Ji 7. Chinese : variant of Ji 8. Korean: There are two Chinese characters for the Chi surname, borne by different groups. The smaller of the two groups has only one clan associated with it, the majority of whose members live in Kangw{ou}n and Ch’ungch’{ou}n North Provinces of South Korea and North Korea’s P’y{ou}ngan North Province. The other group also has but one clan but a much larger population. Unlike many clans in Korea, the larger Chi family did not remain congregated in and around its clan seat but dispersed fairly evenly around the peninsula.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Korean: there is only one Chinese character for the surname Nam, meaning ‘south’. As many as fifty-seven Nam clans are mentioned in the records, but of these only four can be positively documented. The founding ancestor of the Nam clans was a man named Kim Ch’ung. He was an emissary from Tang, China, on his way to Japan when a southerly storm blew his ship northward and forced it aground in Shilla, Korea. The Shilla king Kyongdok (742–765), noting that he had come from the south, renamed the emissary Nam in 755.

English: unexplained. Chinese : from an ancient area named Cong Yang, whose residents adopted the surname. Vietnamese: unexplained.

South German, Swiss, and Austrian: topographic name from dialect Au ‘water meadow’, ‘stream’ (see Aue). Chinese : variant of Ou 1. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Korean: there is one Chinese character for the Son surname. Some sources mention as many as 118 clans for the Son family, but only seven can be documented. According to legend, the Son clan’s founding ancestor was named Kuryema and was one of the six pre-Shilla elders who made Pak Hyokkose the first king of Shilla. The first documented ancestor, however, was called Sun. Sun is said to have lived a poverty-stricken existence in the Shilla period. His son was a voracious eater and ate Sun’s old mother’s food as well as his own. Sun, feeling that he could always get another son but that his mother was irreplaceable, decided to go into the mountains to bury his son. When he dug into the ground, however, he found a bell. He hung the bell on a nearby tree and rang it. So loud and clear was the cry of the bell that the king heard it in the palace below and came to investigate. The king was amazed at the bell and gave Sun a house and food. Later, a Buddhist temple was built on that spot. The founding ancestor of the Iljik (or Andong) Son clan originally bore the surname Sun, but during the reign of Koryo king Hyonjong (1009–1031), Sun was changed to Son. English: from Middle English sone ‘son’, hence a distinguishing epithet for a son who shared the same personal name as his father. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Sohn, or Sonn.

Hawaiian: unexplained. Vietnamese (H{us’}a): unexplained. Chinese : one source of the name is Hua mountain, from the time of the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc). Also, during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc), a duke of the state of Song enfeoffed the city of Hua to his son, whose descendants adopted the name of the city as their surname. Hua also means ‘China’ or ‘Chinese’ in a broad sense, as in ‘Chinese culture’ or ‘the Chinese people’. Chinese : there is another Chinese name romanized as Hua, whose origins are not clear, but it is apparent that the name came into common use beginning with the Tang dynasty (618–907). This character for Hua also means ‘flower’. Chinese : Wu Wang, who established the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc, granted the state of Hua along with the title of Earl to a subject. Descendants of this Earl of Hua adopted Hua as their surname. This character for Hua also means ‘slippery’ or ‘smooth’.

Chinese : variant of Wu 1. Chinese : variant of Wu 4.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese: see Yan. Chinese : see Zhen.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : from a place named Lan-tian (meaning ‘blue field’) in Guangdong province. Polish (Lan): perhaps from the vocabulary word lan ‘plowland’, ‘soil’. Polish (Lan): alternatively, perhaps a nickname from a derivative of lania ‘hind’, ‘doe’.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Chinese: variant of Tian.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : a comparatively rare surname in China, of later origin than most of the more common surnames. It was not until the Song dynasty (960–1279) that the current form of the character for the name became established, appearing in Hunan province after branching from a surname written with a similar character. Laotian or Cambodian: unexplained. Vietnamese: unexplained, South German and Swiss German: variant of Hank, a pet form of Johann or Heinrich.

Vietnamese ({D-}àm): unexplained. Other Southeast Asian: unexplained. Dutch, Swedish, and Danish: topographic name for someone living by a dam or pond (dam). Compare Dutch Van Dam.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Middle High German bach ‘stream’. This surname is established throughout central Europe and in Scandinavia, not just in Germany. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Bach ‘stream’, ‘creek’. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Middle English bache. Welsh: distinguishing epithet from Welsh bach ‘little’, ‘small’. Norwegian: Americanized spelling of the topographic name Bakk(e) ‘hillside’ (see Bakke). Polish, Czech, and Slovak: from the personal name Bach, a pet form of Bartomolaeus (Polish Bartlomiej, Czech Bartolomej, Slovak Bartolomej (see Bartholomew) or possibly in some cases of Baltazar or Sebastian).

Vietnamese (Dung): unexplained. Chinese : variant of Dong 1. North German: topographic name for someone who lived on a piece of raised dry land in marshy surroundings, Middle Low German dung, dunk ‘hummock’, or a habitational name from any of the various places named with this word.

Laotian: unexplained.

Chinese : from a character that also means ‘to supervise’ or ‘to manage’. The story goes that in the 23rd century bc, an adviser to the emperor Shun was given this surname due to his ability to supervise and train dragons. Additionally, at one time during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), Dong was part of the title of official historians. The descendants of a historian of the state of Jin adopted the character for Dong from their ancestor’s title and used it as a surname. Vietnamese ({D-}ông and {D-}ô`ng): unexplained.

Vietnamese (Di{e^d}p): unexplained.

English: variant of Thatch. Vietnamese (Th?ach): unexplained. Cambodian: unexplained.

Chinese : variant of Dong 1. Chinese: variant of Tong 3. Chinese: variant of Tong 4.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Cambodian: unexplained.

English and French: nickname for a tall person, from Old English lang, long, Old French long ‘long’, ‘tall’ (equivalent to Latin longus). Irish (Ulster (Armagh) and Munster): reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Longáin (see Langan). Chinese : from the name of an official treasurer called Long, who lived during the reign of the model emperor Shun (2257–2205 bc). his descendants adopted this name as their surname. Additionally, a branch of the Liu clan (see Lau 1), descendants of Liu Lei, who supposedly had the ability to handle dragons, was granted the name Yu-Long (meaning roughly ‘resistor of dragons’) by the Xia emperor Kong Jia (1879–1849 bc). Some descendants later simplified Yu-Long to Long and adopted it as their surname. Chinese : there are two sources for this name. One was a place in the state of Lu in Shandong province during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). The other source is the Xiongnu nationality, a non-Han Chinese people. Chinese : variant of Lang. Cambodian: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Caen in Calvados, France (see Cain). English: habitational name from Cam in Gloucestershire. Czech (Cam): from the personal name Camir.

Vietnamese (Tiêu): unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Cambodian: unexplained. Indonesian or Malaysian: unexplained.

Chinese : variant of Gu 1. Chinese : variant of Gu 2. Chinese : variant of Gu 3. Korean: there are three Chinese characters for the surname Ku. The most common of the three claims thirty-two clans, but only two can be documented. The other two Ku surnames each have one clan, with its own Chinese character. All four of the Ku clans immigrated from China. The clans that use the more common character came in two waves: the first settled in the Nungsong sometime before 945, and the second, which settled in Ch’angwon, arrived in 1224. The name of the immigrant who founded the first of these two clans has been lost; but the name of the second is Ku Chon-yu. Members of these two clans can be found throughout the Korean peninsula, but 45 percent of them live in Kyongsang South province, while 20 percent of them live in Seoul and Kyonggi province. The founder of the clan that uses the other Ku character was named Ku T’ae-rim. He was an emissary for Tang China on his way to Japan when a storm blew his ship onto the shores of Koguryo Korea in 663. He settled in Koguryo territory and subsequently held a post in that government. Koguryo was a Korean kingdom which existed in the northern part of the Korean peninsula from 37 bc to ad 668. Its territory was incorporated into Shilla when the peninsula was unified in 668. Most of the modern-day members of this clan live in Ch’ungch’ong province. Very little is known of the origins of the clan which uses the third Ku character. There are only a few families which still use this character in Korea; they live in Kyongsang province and Kangwon province.

English: topographic name for someone who lived near a meadow or a patch of arable land, Middle English lee, lea, from Old English lea, dative case (used after a preposition) of leah, which originally meant ‘wood’ or ‘glade’. English: habitational name from any of the many places named with Old English leah ‘wood’, ‘glade’, as for example Lee in Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, and Shropshire, and Lea in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, and Wiltshire. Irish: reduced Americanized form of Ó Laoidhigh ‘descendant of Laoidheach’, a personal name derived from laoidh ‘poem’, ‘song’ (originally a byname for a poet). Americanized spelling of Norwegian Li or Lie. Chinese : variant of Li 1. Chinese : variant of Li 2. Chinese : variant of Li 3. Korean: variant of Yi.

Chinese : from the name of a state of Han, which existed during the early part of the Western Zhou dynasty (1122–771 bc), in present-day Shaanxi province. This was the fief of a younger brother of Cheng Wang, second king of the Zhou dynasty. The state of Han was later annexed by the state of Jin, but the area was enfeoffed by the Jin ruler to Wu Zi, a descendant of Wen Wang. Wu Zi’s descendants eventually adopted the name of the fief as their surname. Korean: there are two Chinese characters for the surname Han. However, one of these characters, meaning ‘China’, is extremely rare (only two households with this surname appeared in a recent census), so only the other will be considered here. Some records indicate that there are 131 clans of the Han family, but only one—the Han family of Ch’ongju, can be documented. Some sources name Han Ran as the founding ancestor of the Han family. Han Ran is recognized as one of the men who assisted the first Koryo king, Wang Kon, in setting up the Koryo kingdom in 918. More recent scholarship, however, postulates that the Ch’ongju Han clan’s founding ancestor was U-P’yong, one of three sons of the fortieth generation descendant of Kija, the founder of the ancient Choson kingdom (died 194 bc). The other two sons, U-song and U-Kyong, founded the Ki clan and the Songan clans, respectively. French: of uncertain origin. In some cases at least it is from a Breton word meaning ‘summer’ or a topographic name from a place named with Gaulish hafod ‘summer residence’. Dutch and Czech (Hán): from a reduced form of the personal name Johann(es) (see John). Jewish: variant of Hahn.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

North German and Dutch: from an Old Frisian personal name Douwo. South German: from Davo, a short form of the personal name Tavold, formed with Old High German dau ‘custom’, ‘tradition’. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Cúáin ‘descendant of Cúán’ (see Coyne). Chinese : from a word that means ‘coin’. During the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) the coin official was an important functionary in charge of currency. Descendants of a coin official adopted the character as their surname. However, another character, , meaning ‘all’, pronounced identically, came to be used more often as a surname. Chinese : from the state of Quan, which existed during the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 bc). The name of the state is identical to a word meaning ‘power’. The Shang king Wu Ding granted the state to his grandson, whose descendants adopted Quan as their surname.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Danish: unexplained. Vietnamese: unexplained. Cambodian: unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of a state that existed during the Zhou dynasty (in present-day Shaanxi province). When the second king of the Zhou dynasty, Cheng Wang (1115–1079 bc), defeated the state of Tang in present-day Shaanxi province, he changed its name to Du and granted it to a descendant of the model emperor Yao. Descendants of the new ruler subsequently adopted the place name as their surname. Chinese : from the names of two princes of ancient territories, one from the state of Qi, and the other from the state of Zhen. Vietnamese (D{us}): unexplained.

Hispanic (Filipino): unexplained. Vietnamese: unexplained.

French: from the personal name Luc, a vernacular form of Lucas. French: topographic name from Latin lucus ‘wood’, or a habitational name from places in Aveyron and Lozère named with this word. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Scottish, English, Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a tall person, from Older Scots, Middle English, Middle Dutch, Middle German, and Danish lang ‘long’, Swedish lång. Hungarian: from láng ‘flame’, hence probably a nickname for a passionate person, or a man with a fighting spirit. Alternatively it may be an indirect occupational name for a smith or someone who worked with fire. Chinese : from the name of a place called Lang City in the state of Lu, founded during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc) by a grandson of the ruler. His descendants lived there and adopted Lang as their surname. Vietnamese (Lãng): unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Chinese : variant of Zhong 1. Chinese : variant of Zong. Chinese : variant of Zhong 2. Chinese : variant of Cong. Korean: variant of Ch{ou}ng (see Chong).

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Ethnic name in various European languages (including Danish and English) meaning ‘Dane’. Romanian: unexplained. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Korean: variant of Ho (see Ho).

Chinese : probably from the name of a people living to the west of China in ancient times, who integrated with the Han Chinese during the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 ad). The character also means ‘finish’, ‘conclude’. Vietnamese: unexplained. Scandinavian: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Norwegian: variant of Bo. Chinese : this character means ‘to divine’ or ‘to predict’. In ancient China there existed government officials for fortune-telling. In honor of their forebears, the descendants of several such officials adopted Bu as their surname. Chinese : from the town of Bu in the state of Jin (in present-day Shaanxi province) during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). Descendants of a man who was enfeoffed with this area subsequently adopted the place name as their surname. This character also means ‘a (walking) step’.

Chinese : from the place name Cui, in present-day Shandong province. In the 11th century bc, the eldest son of Ding, Duke of Qi (see Ting) abdicated his right of succession and moved to the area of Cui in present-day Shandong province. His descendants eventually adopted the place name Cui as their surname.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Italian: from a short form of the personal names Bartolomeo, Romeo, or Tolomeo, or possibly from a reduced form of Matteo, Mazzeo (Italian equivalents of Matthew).

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Filipino: unexplained.

Chinese : from a character meaning ‘minister’. This was part of the title of Gao Yao, a great-grandson of the legendary emperor Zhuan Xu, who became famous as a minister under the model emperors Yao and Shun in the 23rd century bc; he was the first to introduce laws for the repression of crime. His descendants adopted this part of his title as their surname. The use of this name continued for over a millennium to the twelfth century bc, down to the rule of the last king of the Shang dynasty, the despotic Zhou Xin. Li Zhi, the head of the Li clan at that time, displeased Zhou Xin and was executed, leaving the rest of the clan facing imminent disaster. They fled, and nearly starved to death, surviving only by eating a fruit called mu zi. When the characters for mu and zi are combined, they form the character for plum, pronounced Li. In token of this salvation, the clan changed their name to the current character for li ‘plum’. Li is now the most common surname in China. Among the many famous bearers are Lee Kwan Yew, prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990; Lee Teng-hui, president of Taiwan from 1988; Li Peng, prime minister of China from 1988; and Bruce Lee (1941–73), movie actor. Chinese : from the name of a state of Li (in present-day Shanxi province), which existed during the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 bc). Descendants of the state’s rulers adopted the name of the state as their surname. Chinese : this character for Li is an altered form of 1 above. Norwegian: habitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named Li, from Old Norse hlíð ‘mountain slope’, ‘hillside’.

Vietnamese (Liêu): unexplained.

Chinese : from the place name Su. A descendant of the emperor Zhuan Xu, who lived in the 26th century bc, was granted a fiefdom called Su, and his descendants eventually adopted the place name as their surname. Chinese : from part of an official title, Zhisu Duwei, of the Western Han dynasty (206 bc–24 ad). This title was borne by the official in charge of granaries, an important role as granaries could be strategic military targets. A descendant of one such official adopted the character Su from the title as his surname. Chinese : from the name of an ancient kingdom called Su, which existed during the reign of the first of the three legendary emperors, Fu Xi (2852–2734 bc). Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : variant of Yan 3.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : possibly a variant of Wang 1. Other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Korean: there are two Chinese characters for the surname Cho. Some records indicate a total of 210 different clans which use the more common Cho character, but only fifteen can be documented with confidence. Each of these claims a different founding ancestor. Most of them trace their origins to the beginning of the Kory{ou} kingdom (early 10th century). Only one clan, the Ch’angny{ou}ng Cho, uses the other Chinese character. The founder of this clan’s name was Cho Kye-ryong. According to legend, there was a certain scholar named Yi Kwang-ok, whose daughter very much wanted to marry. A monk visited her and told her to go to Hwawang Mountain to pray at the dragon pond. The maiden did so, and upon her return found herself to be pregnant. In a dream, a young man with a crown and a jade belt appeared to her. A few months later, in the 48th year of the reign of the Shilla King Chinp’y{ou}ng (ad 626), she gave birth to a little boy under whose arm the Chinese character for Cho appeared in red. The king, understanding the boy to be special, named him Cho Kyeryong and married him to his daughter, the princess. So began the Ch’angny{ou}ng Cho clan. Chinese : Min variant of Cao. Chinese : variant of Zhuo.

Hungarian (Bán): from the old Hungarian personal name Bán. Hungarian, Serbian, and Croatian: from Slavic ban or Hungarian bán ‘governor’ (from Avar bajan ‘rich’, ‘rich man’), historically a status name for a regional military or administrative leader (for example the governor of Croatia in the Habsburg Empire). Slovenian: probably from a reduced form of the personal name Urban. German: variant spelling of Bann. Japanese: ‘comrade’. This name is found mostly in eastern Japan. Some families pronounce the same character as Tomo. Chinese : according to legend, during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), a noble of the state of Chu was raised and suckled by a tiger. This tiger’s skin bore markings that resembled the character for Ban, and his descendants adopted this character, which may also mean ‘team’, ‘class’, ‘group’ as their surname. Korean: variant of Pan.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

German and Dutch: variant of Kuhn. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Portuguese (Sá): variant spelling of Saa, a habitational name from any of the numerous places named Saa, mainly in northern Portugal and Galicia. Korean: there are three Chinese characters associated with this surname. Two of these are extremely rare and are not treated here. The remaining Sa surname is also quite unusual. There are two distinct clans, one of Kyongsang South Province’s Koch’ang County and the other originating with a refugee from Ming China who came to Korea near the end of the Koryo period (ad 918–1392).

Vietnamese: unexplained. Filipino: unexplained.

Chinese : Min (Taiwanese) form of Ke. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Gao. Chinese : variant of Ge 1. Chinese : variant of Ge 2. Korean: there is only one Chinese character for the surname Ko. There are ten different Ko clans, but they are all descended from the Ko clan of Cheju Island. There is no historical information regarding the founder of this clan, but there is a legend which tells of three men who appeared from a cave on the north side of Cheju Island’s Halla Mountain. These three men were the founders of the Yang clan, the Pu clan, and the Ko clan, the latter being named Ko Ul-la. Some days after the three men emerged from the cave, a box was washed up on the shore of the island. In the box were three women, horses, cows, and agricultural seed. From these beginnings, the three established Cheju Island’s T’amnaguk kingdom and ruled peacefully. Ko is a common surname found throughout the Korean peninsula. Approximately ten percent of Cheju Island’s present-day population consists of members of the Ko family. Hungarian (Ko): from ko ‘stone’, a word from the ancient Finno-Ugric word stock of Hungarian (cognate with Finnish kivi, Estonian keve), hence a topographic name for someone who lived on stony ground or by a notable outcrop of rock, or alternatively a metonymic occupational name for a mason or stonecutter.

English: habitational name for someone from either of two places named Kenn, in Devon and Avon, both of which take their name from the streams on which they stand. English: from Anglo-French ken, chen ‘dog’ (Old French chien), possibly applied as a nickname or as a metonymic name for someone who kept hunting dogs. Perhaps also a respelling of German Kenn, either from a short form of the personal name Konrad or a habitational name from Kenn, near Trier.

Scandinavian (Swedish also Vång): habitational or ornamental name from any of numerous farmsteads and other places so named, from Old Norse vangr ‘field’, ‘meadow’, Swedish vång. See also Wang. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Wang. Laotian: unexplained. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Korean: variant of Pang. Norwegian: habitational name for someone who lived at a farm named Bang, from bank ‘flat hill-top’, ‘terrace’. Danish: from Old Danish bang ‘noise’, hence a nickname for a loud or brash person. German: nickname for a timid person, from Middle High German, Middle Low German bang ‘fearful’, ‘nervous’.

Chinese : from the name of Hao village, in present-day Shanxi province. The penultimate king of the Shang dynasty, Di Yi (1191–1155 bc) granted this place to one of his sons. Descendants of this son eventually adopted Hao as their surname.

English: from a pet form of the personal name Samson (see Samson). Dutch (van Sam): variant of Van den Sand (see Sand 2). Nigerian and Ghanaian: unexplained. Chinese : variant of Shen. Chinese : variant of Shum. Other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of a prince of the state of Wu (see Wu1) named Ke Lu. Chinese , : see Ge.

Spanish: nickname from Spanish can, a synonym of perro ‘hound’. French: descriptive nickname for a gray-haired man, Latin canutus. Compare Canuel, Cano. Muslim: variant of Khan. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of the former state of Cai, in present-day Henan province. When the Zhou dynasty displaced the Shang dynasty in 1122 bc, the defeated Shang were allowed to rule in the area of their old capital of Yin, under the stewardship of Zhou appointees. However, these Zhou appointees, among them Cai Shu, the 14th son of Wen Wang and younger brother of the new king, joined forces with the Shang in revolt. After the rebellion was suppressed, Cai Shu was banished, but his son was granted the state of Cai along with the title Earl of Cai. His descendants later adopted the place name Cai as their surname. Other spellings of this name, due to dialect differences and variation in Romanization, include Tsai, Choi, Choy, and Tsoi.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Danish and Swedish (Vång): variant of Vång (see Vang). Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : Cantonese variant of Chen. Chinese : variant transcription of Zhan. Vietnamese (Chân): unexplained. Galician and Portuguese: topographic name from a field named Chan (Galician) or Chã (Portuguese), from Latin plana ‘level’, ‘flat’.

Korean: there is only one Chinese character for the Na surname. Some sources indicate that there are 46 different Na clans, but only two of them can be documented, and it is believed that these two sprang from a common founding ancestor. The Na clan’s founding ancestor, Na Pu, migrated from China sometime during the mid-seventh century and settled in the Naju area. Chinese : there are two sources of this surname. One is the state of Na that existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). The other source is the Hu ethnic group, some of whom adopted Na as their surname.

Vietnamese (H[acircdotu]u): unexplained. Chinese : variant of Hou. Chinese : variant of Hao. French (Gascony): topographic name from a local form of Occitan fau ‘beech tree’ (from Latin fagus). South German: topographic name from Middle High German hou, a measure of woodland.

Laotian or other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Muslim: shortened form of any of the many Arabic names formed with the word din ‘religion’, for example Saifuddin ‘sword of religion’ or Salahuddin ‘righteousness of religion’. Indian (northern states): Hindu name derived from Sanskrit dina ‘humble’. Scottish: unexplained. According to Black, this is an old Strathblane surname. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from Yiddish din ‘thin’.

Korean: there are two Chinese characters for this surname, covering sixteen clans. The smaller clan is the only clan to use one of the two Chinese characters, and it has only one or two households. The remaining clans all descend from a common ancestor, Song Chu-un, who seems to have migrated from Tang China to Korea sometime during the Shilla period. Sixty percent of the Songs live in southern Korea. Korean (Song): there are two Chinese characters for the surname Song, but one of them is registered for just a single household. Only the common Song clan, the Ch’angnyong clan, is treated here. This was founded by Song In-bo just prior to the establishment of the Koryo kingdom in 918. According to legend, Song In-bo died in Seoul. His son set out to transport his father’s body back to Ch’angnyong, but, the weather being poor, he decided to stop for the night and finish the journey in the morning. When he awoke, he discovered that his father’s body was missing. Upon investigation, he found that a tiger had dragged the body to a secluded grave site in the mountains near Ch’angnyong. It was there that the son buried his father and established his home. Many of the members of the Song clan today live in the Ch’angnyong area of Kyongsang province. Chinese : from a place name, the state of Song. After the Zhou overthrew the corrupt king of the Shang dynasty, Zhou Xin, in 1122 bc, the new Zhou dynasty granted the state of Song to the overthrown king’s half-brother, Wei Ziqi. His descendants eventually adopted the place name Song as their surname. This name was that of the Song dynasty, (960–1279), and in more recent times was borne by the powerful Soong siblings: T.V. Soong, once one of the richest men in the world; Soong Ch’ing-ling, wife of Sun Yat-Sen; and Soong Mei-ling, wife of Chiang Kai-shek.

Chinese : from a word meaning ‘cart’. During the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 ad) there was a prime minister who became to old to walk very far unaided, so he had himself brought to and from work in a cart, and became known as ‘Prime Minister Cart’. His descendants adopted the character for cart as their surname. Chinese : variant of Xie 1. Vietnamese: unexplained. Korean: variant of Chae. Spanish: from a pet form of the personal name José.

French (Belgium): nickname for someone who was fleet of foot, from French le vent ‘the wind’.

Chinese : from Hu, a name bestowed posthumously on Gui Man, Duke of Chen. After conquering the Shang dynasty and becoming the first king of the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc, Wu Wang searched for a descendant of the great ancient emperors to guard their memory and offer sacrifices, to help retain the mandate of heaven which was considered essential to remain in power. He found Gui Man, a descendant of the model emperor Shun (2257–2205 bc), and granted him the region of Chen (in present-day Henan province), along with one of his daughters in marriage and the title Marquis of Chen. Gui Man was posthumously named Hu, Duke of Chen, and some of his descendants adopted this name as their surname. Chinese : from part of the name of the state of Youhu, which existed during the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc). Its residents subsequently adopted the second character of the name, Hu, as their surname. French: nickname from Old French hu ‘outcry’, ‘noise’ (the same word as gave rise to the English phrase ‘hue and cry’, which referred to a clamour raised when in pursuit of a criminal); compare Huard 2. Mexican (Maya): nickname meaning ‘iguana’.

Vietnamese: unexplained. French and Dutch: from a reduced form of the personal name Vivien, a vernacular form of the Latin name Vivianus.

Chinese : variant of Wen 2. Chinese : from a character in the personal name of Hu Gongman, a retainer of Wu Wang. After the latter established the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc, he granted the state of Chen to Hu Gongman, whose descendants adopted the second character of his given name, Man, as their surname. This character also means ‘Manchurian’, but the name does not appear to be related to this meaning. Chinese : variant of Wen 3. Chinese : variant of Wan 1. English and Jewish: variant spelling of Mann. Dutch: from Middle Dutch man ‘man’, ‘husband’, ‘vassal’, ‘arbiter’. French: from the Germanic personal name Manno (see Mann 2). Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the personal name Man, derived from Yiddish ‘man’.

Korean: there is only one Chinese character used for the Min surname. There is a legend that the Min clan’s founding ancestor, Ch’ing-do, was a descendant of Ch’a kon, one of the ten disciples of Confucius. Ch’ing-do, an emissary from China to the Koryo kingdom, decided to stay and settled in the Yohung area. The surname Min can be found throughout Korea, but it is particularly concentrated in Cholla and Kyongsang provinces. Chinese : the source of this name was the character’s former meaning, ‘sympathy for those who die young’. The descendants of various people who died young adopted Min as their surname. Dutch: nickname from Middle Dutch minne ‘beloved’, ‘sweetheart’. Dutch: from a reduced form of the personal name Dominicus (see Dominick).

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Korean: there are two Chinese characters for the surname Ki, but one is extremely rare. Only the common one is discussed here. Only one Ki clan uses this other character, the Haengju Ki clan. The founder of the Haengju Ki clan, U-Song, is said to have been one of three sons of the 40th generation descendant of Kija, the founder of the ancient Choson kingdom in about 194 bc. The other two sons, U-P’yong and U-kyong, founded the Han clan and the Son’gan clan respectively.

Chinese : variant of Zhang.

Korean (So): although there are two Chinese characters for the So surname, one of these is extremely rare and can be discounted (there are only about two hundred people in Korea who use this rare character). Some records indicate that the more common character for So has as many as 165 clans, but only eleven of them can be documented. The first recorded ancestor of the So clans seems to be a Shilla figure named So Shin-il. According to some legends, the rulers of the Old Choson kingdom (died 194 bc) were driven from power by the Wiman Choson and settled in the Ich’on area. The So clans are among the descendants of these ancient rulers. About fifty percent of modern members of the So clans live in the Kyongsang provinces or in Cholla South province. Chinese : a Cantonese form of Su 1. Hungarian (Só): metonymic occupational name for a salt seller or producer, from só ‘salt’.

Norwegian: habitational name from a farmstead in Rogaland, probably originally named in Old Norse as Mángr, from már ‘gull’ + angr ‘small fjord’. Korean: unexplained.

Chinese : variant of Zhang 1. Chinese : The emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc) had two advisers whose names contained this character; descendants of both of them are believed to have adopted Chang as their surname. Additionally, in the state of Wei during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) there existed a fief named Chang, the name of which was adopted by descendants of its ruling class. The Chinese character also has the meanings ‘often’ and ‘ordinary’. Chinese : variant of Zhang 2. Chinese : a rare name whose Chinese character also means ‘prosperous, flourishing’. This name is said to have originated 4500 years ago with Chang Yi, son of the legendary emperor Huang Di and father of emperor Zhuan Xu. Korean: there are 33 Chang clans in Korea, all but three of which use the same Chinese character for their surname. All of the Korean Chang clans had their origins in China, and, apart from the T{ou}ksu Chang clan and the Ch{ou}lgang Chang clan, they all originated from a single founding ancestor, Chang Ch{ou}n-p’il. He was born in China in 888 ad and fled to Korea with his father during a tumultuous period of Chinese history. The T{ou}ksu Chang clan’s founding ancestor, Chang Sul-long, stayed in Korea, having escorted Kory{ou} King Ch’ungy{ou}l’s queen-to-be from China to Korea in 1275. Most of the founding ancestors of the other Chang clans arrived in Korea from Y{uu}an China during the Kory{ou} period (ad 918–1392) or during the early Chos{ou}n period.

Hungarian: ethnic name for a member of a Turkic people known in English as the Cumanians (Hungarian kún). Jewish (from Hungary): adoption of 1, replacing the Jewish homophone Kuhn. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): variant of Kuhn.

Norwegian: habitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named with the definite singular form of Li 4. Dutch: from the Middle Dutch personal name Liedin, a pet form of any of the various Germanic compound names beginning with leud, liut ‘people’, ‘tribe’, such as Liedwin. New England variant spelling of Lyon. Chinese : variant of Lian 2. Chinese : variant of Lian 2. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Korean: there are three Chinese characters for the No surname, one of which is extremely rare. Between the three characters, there are a total of sixteen clans. All of the clans are descended from founding ancestors from China. One of the founding ancestors, No Su, migrated from China in 755 and brought with him his nine sons. Each of his sons went on to found another clan. Japanese (No): written with the character for ‘ability’; found in the Ryukyuan island of Amami.

Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, and eastern German (of Slavic origin): from the personal name Mach, a pet form of a vernacular derivative of Latin Matthaeus or Mathias (Czech Matej, Polish Maciej, etc. (see Matthew)). In some cases, the Czech and Polish names represent pet forms of other names beginning with Ma-, for example Marek (see Mark) or Martin. possibly also an Americanized spelling of Hungarian Mács, from a pet form of Máté or Mátyás, Hungarian forms of Matthew. Jewish (Ashkenazic): unexplained. Vietnamese, Cambodian, or other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Chinese : variant of An 1.

Italian (Sardinia): most probably from a short form of a personal name Balloe, or possibly from a short form of the personal name Aloi, Sicilian form of Eligio (see Aloi). Vietnamese: unexplained.

Vietnamese (Thông): unexplained. Cambodian or other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Swedish: originally a soldier’s name, from bång ‘noise’. Belgian: unexplained. Malaysian or Indonesian: unexplained.

Japanese: usually written with characters meaning ‘earthen well’; found mainly in western Japan and the island of Shikoku. A name with the same pronunciation, but written with characters meaning ‘earthen habitation’, is found in eastern Japan. Both have an alternate pronunciation: Tsuchii.

Dutch and French: unexplained. Chinese: variant of Tian.

Chinese : variant of Qian. Chinese : variant of Jian.

Southern Italian: nickname for a fierce or brave warrior, from Latin leo ‘lion’. Italian: from a short form of the personal name Pantaleo. Jewish: from the personal name Leo (from Latin leo ‘lion’), borrowed from Christians as an equivalent of Hebrew Yehuda (see Leib 3). English: from the Old French personal name Leon ‘lion’ (see Lyon 2). Spanish: variant or derivative of the personal name Leon. Dutch: from Latin leo ‘lion’, applied either a nickname for a strong or fearless man or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a lion; or alternatively from a personal name of the same derivation. German and Hungarian (Leó): Latinized form of Löwe (see Loewe).

Hispanic: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Cambodian: unexplained.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Shortened form of any of the many Scottish and Irish surnames formed with Gaelic mac ‘son of’.

Chinese : a Cantonese form of Liu 1. Chinese : probably from the name of Lao Mountain in Shandong province, adopted as a surname most likely during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Chinese : a Cantonese form of Liu 3. This name is also found in the Philippines. Laotian: unexplained. Tongan: unexplained.

German: habitational name from any of various places named with Middle High German gau, göu ‘area of fertile agricultural land’. Chinese : variant of Gao.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Variant spelling of German Thamm, from a short form of the personal name Thankmar, from Germanic þank ‘thought’ + mari ‘famous’.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Polish and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a flax grower or merchant, from Polish len ‘flax’. Polish (Len): nickname from Polish len ‘lazybones’. Polish: from a short form of the personal name Leon or Lenart (see Leonard).

Chinese : there are several sources of this surname; one of them is a certain Duke Ding who lived during the reign of Wu Wang, who established the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc.

Chinese : variant of Song 1. Korean: variant of Song 2.

English: variant of Lane.

Cambodian: unexplained. Hawaiian: unexplained.

French: from the Old French personal name Hue, variant of Hugues (see Hugh). Vietnamese: unexplained.

French: approbatory (or ironic) nickname, from Old French bon ‘good’ (Latin bonus). French: occasionally from the Latin personal name Bonus (likewise meaning ‘good’), which was borne by a minor 3rd-century Christian saint, martyred at Rome with eleven companions under the Emperor Vespasian. It was adopted as a personal name partly in his honor and partly because of the transparently well-omened meaning. Hungarian: from a short form of the old ecclesiastical name Bonifác (see Boniface).

Chinese : from a southern pronunciation of the name of the state of Han (in present-day Shaanxi province), which existed during the early stages of the Western Zhou dynasty (1122–771 bc). This was the fief of a younger brother of Cheng Wang, second king of the Zhou dynasty (see Han). When the state of Han was later annexed by the state of Jin, the members of the royal family scattered. Those descendants who settled further south, in the area of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, found that the character for Han was pronounced He in this area, and so changed their name to a character more widely pronounced He. Chinese : during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 ad), members of the Qing clan needed to change their surname, as Qing was the name of the emperor’s father and so they were not permitted to use this name. They decided on he, which like qing means ‘celebrate’. In modern Chinese these two characters have been compounded into one word, qinghe, which also means ‘celebrate’. Chinese : from a word meaning ‘and’ in modern Chinese, which was part of the title Xihe ‘astrologer’. Members of the He clan held this hereditary position and adopted their surname from the title.

Korean (Ch’a): there is only one Chinese character for the Ch’a surname, and the Y{ou}nan Ch’a clan is the only clan. Their founding ancestor was Ch’a Hyoj{ou}n, son of Yu Ch’a-tal (10th century ad). Ch’a is a fairly common surname throughout the Korean peninsula, but most of the clan’s members live in Ky{ou}ngsang province, Hwanghae province, or P’y{ou}ngan province. Chinese : variant of Zha.

Chinese : from the name of the ancient state of Xu. The model emperor Yu (2205–2198 bc) granted this state to one of his retainers. The retainer’s family governed the state from this time on until the Western Zhou dynasty (1122–771 bc), when the Xu prince of the time believed it to be God’s will that he should oppose the Zhou dynasty, on account of a prophecy associated with a red bow and arrow that he pulled out of a river. The Zhou king, Mu Wang, was far away to the west in the Kunlun mountains, but raced back to confront and defeat the Xu prince (see Chao 1). Mu Wang then granted the state of Xu to the defeated prince’s son, giving him the ‘style name’ of Xu. Descendants of this new ruler eventually adopted Xu as their surname. Chinese : this name goes back as far as the 23rd century bc. According to tradition, there existed a philosopher named Xu You, who was offered succession to the throne by the model emperor Yao. Having heard this proposal, Xu You washed his ears in a river to rid them of such defilement. The main stock of this name probably came later, however, when Wu Wang, the first king (1122–1116 bc) of the Zhou dynasty, granted the area of Xu in present-day Henan province to Wen Shu, a descendant of Bo Yi, adviser to the model emperor Shun (who coincidentally accepted the offer of power which Xu You had declined). The descendants of Wen Shu eventually adopted the name of the area of Xu as their surname.

Ukrainian, Jewish (from Ukraine), Polish, Serbian, and Hungarian (Cáp): from Ukrainian tsap ‘billy goat’, Polish cap, and so probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a goat herd. Czech (Cáp): nickname for a tall or long-legged man, from cáp ‘stork’. Southern French: from Occitan cap ‘head’ (Latin caput); probably a nickname for a person with something distinctive about his head. The word was often used in the metaphorical sense ‘chief’, ‘principal’, and the surname may also have denoted a leader or a village elder. In some cases it may also be a topographic name from the same word used in the sense of a promontory or headland. Americanized spelling of German Kapp. English: variant spelling of Capp.

Chinese : from the name of a city called Si, which existed in the State of Wei during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). Chinese : variant of Shi 3. Dutch: unexplained.

Catalan: topographic name from pi ‘pine tree’, or habitational name from any of the numerous places named with this word. Chinese : from a character in the personal name of Fan Zhongpi, son of Wen Wang, the virtuous duke whose magnanimous rule led to the establishment of the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc. Generations later, a branch of his descendants adopted the second character of his given name, Pi, as their surname. Chinese: see Bi.

German: nickname for a physically strong person, from Middle High German louwe, lauwe ‘lion’. In some cases the surname may have been originally from a house sign. North German: topographic name for someone living in a bush-covered area or clearing, Middle Low German lo, loch, lage. North German and Dutch: from a vernacular short form of the personal name Laurentius (see Lawrence). Dutch: nickname from Middle Dutch laeu ‘lazy’, ‘indifferent’, ‘faint-hearted’. Chinese : Cantonese form of Liu 1. Chinese : Cantonese form of Liu 3. Chinese : variant of Lao 2.

English, French, Danish, Dutch, and German: from a short form of the personal name Matthias (see Matthew) or any of its many cognates, for example Norman French Maheu. English, French, Dutch, and German: from a nickname or personal name taken from the month of May (Middle English, Old French mai, Middle High German meie, from Latin Maius (mensis), from Maia, a minor Roman goddess of fertility). This name was sometimes bestowed on someone born or baptized in the month of May; it was also used to refer to someone of a sunny disposition, or who had some anecdotal connection with the month of May, such as owing a feudal obligation then. English: nickname from Middle English may ‘young man or woman’. Irish (Connacht and Midlands): when not of English origin (see 1–3 above), this is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Miadhaigh ‘descendant of Miadhach’, a personal name or byname meaning ‘honorable’, ‘proud’. French: habitational name from any of various places called May or Le May. Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Mayen, a place in western Germany. Americanized spelling of cognates of 1 in various European languages, for example Swedish Ma(i)j. Chinese : possibly a variant of Mei 1, although this spelling occurs more often for the given name than for the surname.

Indian (northern states): Hindu name found in several communities, from Sanskrit deva ‘god’, ‘lord’. This was a title used by ruling families in northern India. There is a Jat tribe called Deo. In the northeast this name is found among Kayasths, pronounced deb. In Maharashtra Konkanasth Brahmans have a clan called Dev. Italian: from a short form of the personal names Amadeo, Laudadeo, or Sperindeo, of which only the first now remains in use as a given name.

English and Scottish: from Middle English, Old French parc ‘park’; a metonymic occupational name for someone employed in a park or a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a park. In the Middle Ages a park was a large enclosed area where the landowner could hunt game. English and Scottish: from a medieval pet form of the personal name Peter. Compare Parkin. Swedish: ornamental name from park ‘park’. Korean: variant of Pak.

Cambodian: unexplained. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Zhan. Hispanic (Guatemala and Mexico): unexplained. In some cases, possibly an ethnic name, from Portuguese chim ‘Chinese’.

Chinese: variant of Mei. Tongan and Samoan: unexplained.

Chinese : Cantonese variant of Cai 1. Chinese : variant of Xu 1. Korean: variant of Choe.

North German and Dutch: nickname for a dandy or an affluent person, from Middle Low German mouwe, Dutch mouw, ‘sleeve’, referring to a wide sleeve of expensive, ornamented fabric. Portuguese: nickname from mau ‘bad’, ‘evil’ (Latin malus). Breton: nickname or occupational name from mao ‘young boy’, ‘servant’. Chinese: variant of Mao.

Norwegian: habitational name from a farm name in Hordaland related to rong ‘stern (of a boat)’. Chinese : there are two sources of this surname. One is Rong Cheng, a senior minister to Emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc), who is credited with the invention of the Chinese calendar. A second source is the title of an official who was in charge of ceremonial music, rongguan, during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Chinese : from the name of another senior minister to the Emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc), called Rong Yuan. A second source of the surname written with this character is a city called Rong, which was granted to a minister of the Zhou dynasty king Cheng Wang (1115–1078 bc). Chinese : when the state of Zhou overthrew the corrupt and brutal last king of the Shang dynasty, Zhou Xin, to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc, the son of Zhou Xin was granted the area of the former Shang capital. The Zhou believed that, in order to obtain the mandate of heaven necessary to rule, they had to grant lands and titles to the principal descendants of the great emperors of the past, even if that meant granting lands to the progeny of their enemies. Zhou Xin’s son rose in revolt against the new rulers and was killed. To replace him with another descendant of the Emperor Cheng Tang, the Zhou this time chose Zhou Xin’s elder half-brother, who was regarded as a virtuous man and who had attempted to curb Zhou Xin’s excesses; he was granted the title Duke of Song, but is usually known as Wei, Viscount of Song. Chinese sources state that the surname Rong was used by his ancestors, but do not indicate its origin. The Rong were a non-Chinese people living on the border of Chinese territories during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and this may be the source.

Spanish and Galician (lúa): habitational name from a place called lúa in Lugo province (Galicia). This name is common in MexicoTongan: unexplained. Hawaiian: unexplained. Chinese: possibly a variant of Lai 1.

Chinese : from the name of a place called Mo City (), said to have been founded by Zhuan Xu, legendary emperor who lived in the 26th century bc. The current Chinese character for Mo replaces another, rare or obsolete character. Another source of this name was a government post called Mo’ao, which existed during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc) in the state of Chu. Descendants of a holder of the post adopted the first character of the title as their surname. Chinese : variant of Wu 5. Chinese : variant of Mao 1. Chinese : variant of Wu 3. Norwegian: variant of Moe.

Portuguese (Pó) and Spanish: habitational name from Pó, a town in Portugal, or probably a Spanish habitational name from any of several places called Poo, in northwest Spain. Italian: habitational name from any of the places called Po. Chinese: variant of Bo. Chinese : variant of Pu 1. Other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Chinese: variant of Miao. Romanian: unexplained.

Galician (Rúa): habitational name from any of the numerous places in Galicia so named, from rua ‘street’. Italian: when not of Spanish origin, a topographic name from Sicilian ruga ‘road’, or a habitational name from any of various places named Rua, as for example the locality so named in San Pietro di Feletto in Teviso province. The form Ruà, typical of Piedmont, relates to a district of Pragelato in Torino province or to Ruà del Prato in Dronero, Cuneo province.

Scottish: Aberdeenshire surname, presumably a topographic name referring to the River Don, although according to Black, it may be a variant of Dunn. Italian: in northern Italy (Venetia), from the personal name Dono, a shortening of dono di Dio ‘gift of God’; in the south, it is probably from the honorific title don, meaning ‘master’. French: from the personal name Dodo(ne). Spanish: unexplained; perhaps from the term of address don ‘mister’ (Latin dominus), in the patronymic form De Don, or perhaps a habitational name from a hypothetical place so called. Hungarian: from a short form of the personal name Donát (see Donath). Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the personal name Don, a variant of Dan. Vietnamese ({D-}ôn): unexplained.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname or ornamental name from Yiddish hon ‘cock’. Chinese : variant of Han 1.

Chinese : variant of Shen 2. Chinese : variant of Shan 2. Other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Japanese (Kudo): ‘potter’; some bearers descend from a branch of the southern Fujiwara based in Izu (now part of Shizuoka prefecture). The name is found mostly in northeastern Japan.

Variant of English High. Chinese : Taishan spelling of Xie 2. Vietnamese: unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of an area called Mao, in present-day Henan province, during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc. Bo Dan, the ninth son of Wen Wang, was granted this following the establishment of the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc). In due course his descendants adopted the place name Mao as their surname. This character also means ‘hair’ or ‘feather’. This was the family name of Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the Chinese Communist Party chairman. Chinese : another son of Wen Wang—the third, Mao Shu—was granted a different state, whose name is also pronounced Mao. Descendants adopted the name of this state as their surname. This character also means ‘thatched’ or ‘type of grass used in thatching’. Cambodian: unexplained.

Mexican: unexplained; probably from a native American language. Cambodian or other southeastern Asian: unexplained.

Cambodian: unexplained. English: variant of Timm.

Chinese : from a word meaning ‘forest’. Bi Gan was a half-brother to Zhou Xin, the cruel and corrupt last king (1154–1123 bc) of the Shang dynasty. Bi Gan criticized his half-brother’s excesses, and for this he had his belly ripped open and his heart cut out. His wife fled to Chang Forest, where she gave birth to a son. When Zhou Xin was toppled by the new Zhou dynasty, the new Zhou ruler granted the son some land together with the name Lin. Chinese : variant of Lian 1. Scottish and English: perhaps a variant of Lynn. Dutch: probably a variant of Lyn.

Chinese : from the name of a man called Xi Zhong, credited with inventing the carriage, who lived during the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc).

Chinese: possibly a variant of Dai. Filipino: unexplained.

English: possibly a variant of Tye. Jewish (from Poland): metonymic occupational name for a tea merchant, from central Yiddish tay ‘tea’. Chinese : variant of Zheng.

German: occupational name for a comb maker, from Middle High German kam ‘comb’ (see Kamm) or a variant of Kemme.

Peruvian: unexplained. The etymology is not Spanish; it is probably Quechuan. Chinese : variant of Cai 1.

Korean: variant of No. Perhaps a shortened form of Dutch de Ro, a variant of Rode.

Chinese : from the place name Ni. During the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) there existed a fief of Ni (). After the state of Chu conquered Ni, descendants of the Ni aristocracy adopted Ni as their surname. The character for this Ni was not the same as that of the present-day surname however; later descendants, in order to evade their enemies, changed the form of the character, allowing the pronunciation to stay the same.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

English: variant of Long 1. German and French (Alsace–Lorraine): from Middle High German lunge ‘lung’, presumably applied as a nickname. Chinese : variant of Long 3. Chinese : variant of Long 4.

Catalan (Qué): variant of Quer, a topographic name from quer ‘rock’, ‘cliff’. Chinese : from part of the name of a city named Quetang, in present-day Shandong province. Quetang is famous as the birthplace of the philosopher Confucius.

Chinese : from the name of the state of Liu, which was granted to a descendant of the model emperor Yao (2357–2257 bc). Chinese : variant of Liao. Chinese : from the name of an area called Liu Xia in the state of Lu (in present-day Shanxi province). During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), this was granted to a counselor famous for his high moral character. His descendants adopted the name of this area as their surname.

English (mainly southwestern England): variant spelling of Hamm. French: habitational name from any of the various places in northern France (Ardennes, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Moselle) named with the Germanic word ham ‘meadow in the bend of a river’, ‘water meadow’, ‘flood plain’. Dutch: variant of Hamme. Korean: there is only one Chinese character for the Ham surname. Some sources report that there are sixty different Ham clans, but only the Kangnung Ham clan can be documented. Although some records have been lost and a few generations are unaccounted for, it is known that the founding ancestor of the Ham clan is Ham Kyu, a Koryo general who fought against the Mongol invaders in the thirteenth century. His ancestor, Ham Hyok, was a Tang Chinese general who stayed in Korea after Tang China helped Shilla unify the peninsula during the seventh century. Another of Ham Hyok’s ancestors, Ham Shin, accompanied Kim Chu-won, the founding ancestor of the Kangnung Kim family, to the Kangnung area, and hence the Ham clan became the Kangnung Ham clan. The first prominent ancestor from Kangnung whose genealogy can be verified is Ham Kyu, the Koryo general. Accordingly, he is regarded as the Kangnung Ham clan’s founding ancestor.

Scottish and English: topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosure, Middle English hay(e), heye (Old English (ge)hæg, which after the Norman Conquest became confused with the related Old French term haye ‘hedge’, of Germanic origin). Alternatively, it may be a habitational name from any of various places named with this word, including Les Hays and La Haye in Normandy. The Old French and Middle English word was used in particular to denote an enclosed forest. Compare Haywood. This name was taken to Ireland (County Wexford) by the Normans. Scottish and English: nickname for a tall man, from Middle English hay, hey ‘tall’, ‘high’ (Old English heah). Scottish and English: from the medieval personal name Hay, which represented in part the Old English byname Heah ‘tall’, in part a short form of the various compound names with the first element heah ‘high’. French: topographic name from a masculine form of Old French haye ‘hedge’, or a habitational name from Les Hays, Jura, or Le Hay, Seine-Maritime. Spanish: topographic name from haya ‘beech tree’ (ultimately derived from Latin fagus). German: occupational name from Middle High German heie ‘guardian’, ‘custodian’ (see Hayer). Dutch and Frisian: variant of Haye 1.

Italian: from the personal name Cristiano, Latin Christianus ‘follower of Christ’ (see Christian). In the Tarentine and Sicilian dialects of Italy cristiano is a complimentary term for a clever, judicious person.

German (Baden–Württemberg): from Mangnus, a dialect form of Magnus. Southeast Asian: unexplained.

North German and Dutch: from Middle Low German lewe ‘lion’, a nickname for a brave or regal person, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a lion.

North German: from the personal name, a reduced form of Thiede, with characteristic Low German loss of the dental consonant between vowels.

Korean: there are four Chinese characters for the surname Yu. Some sources indicate the existence of as many as 230 clans, but only about twenty can be positively documented. Several of the clans are of Chinese origin. The largest Yu clan, the Munhwa Yu, was founded by a man named Ch’a Tal. Ch’a’s fifth great-grandfather had been involved in an attempt to overthrow the Shilla king. To avoid prosecution, the ancestor fled to Munhwa and changed his surname, first to that of his maternal grandmother, Yang, and then to Yu. Many years later, Ch’a Tal assisted Wang Kon to establish the Koryo Kingdom. Ch’a was recognized for his support and was rewarded accordingly. Ch’a’s eldest son began again to use the Ch’a surname, but his younger son continued to use Yu. The Munhwa Yu clan, along with the Andong Kwon clan, possesses one of the oldest extant clan genealogies in Korea. Chinese : in the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc) there lived in the state of Qin a high counselor called You Yu, whose descendants took part of their forebear’s ‘style name’, Yu, as their surname. Chinese : from the name of a territory granted by Wu Wang, the first king (1122–1116 bc) of the Zhou dynasty, to his second son. Some of his descendants adopted a simplified version of the character for Yu as their surname. Chinese : during the time of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc), there lived an extraordinary doctor who could cure all manner of diseases. Because of his great abilities, he was called Yu, which meant ‘to heal’. His descendants adopted a modified form of this character as their surname. Chinese : from the name of either of two ancient states called Yu, one located in present-day Henan province and the other in Shanxi province.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Cambodian: unexplained.

Korean: there are three Chinese characters for the Shin surname. Between these three characters, there are five different clans. Each Shin clan descends from a different founding ancestor. One of the Shin clans traces its origins to China. Members of the various Shin clans can be found throughout the Korean peninsula.

Catalan: nickname from Catalan cua ‘tail’.

German: distinguishing epithet, from Middle High German junc ‘young’, for the younger of two bearers of the same personal name, usually a son who bore the same name as his father. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German jung ‘young’, given to or assumed by people who were young at the time when surname became obligatory. Chinese , , : variant of Rong. Chinese , , : variant of Zhong. Korean: variant of Chong.

Chinese : from the place name Pan, which existed in the state of Wei during the Zhou dynasty. Bi Gonggao, fifteenth son of the virtuous duke Wen Wang, was granted a state named Wei when the Zhou dynasty came to power in 1122 bc (see Feng 1). Bi Gonggao in turn granted the area called Pan to one of his sons, whose descendants eventually adopted Pan as their surname. This name is also Romanized as Poon, Pun, and Pon. Korean: There are two Chinese characters for this surname; only one of them, however, is common enough to warrant treatment here. There are three clans which use this character: the Kisong (also called the Koje), the Kwangju, and the Namp’yong. The founding ancestors of these clans were Koryo (918–1392) figures, and it is widely believed that they were related. Spanish and southern French (Occitan): metonymic occupational name for a baker or a pantryman, from Spanish and Occitan pan ‘bread’ (Latin panis). English and Dutch: metonymic occupational name for someone who cast pans, from Middle English, Middle Dutch panne ‘pan’. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Polish, Ukrainian, Yiddish pan ‘lord’, ‘master’, ‘landowner’, hence a nickname for a haughty person. Perhaps also an Americanized spelling or translation of German Pfann (North German Pann).

Chinese : variant, common in Indonesia, of Gao.

English: variant of Munn, Mann, or possibly Moon. German: probably a variant of Mann. Catalan: from the Marian name Mare de Déu del Món, from Girona province. This name is very common in northern Catalonia. Asturian-Leonese or Aragonese: habitational name from Mon in Asturies, or from El Mon in Uesca, Aragón. Chinese : variant of Wan 1.

English: perhaps an occupational name for a baker of buns or a nickname for a short, round individual. Cambodian: unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of Kang Shu, the eighth son of Wen Wang, who was granted the state of Wei (see Wei 3) soon after the founding of the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc. Many of his descendants later adopted Kang as their surname. Another source of the name comes from the Kang Ju tribe, who moved into China from central Asia during the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 ad), and adopted their tribal name, Kang, as their surname. Chinese : variant of Geng 2. Korean: there are five Chinese characters for the surname Kang. Some records indicate that there are as many as one hundred separate Kang clans, but only four have actually been documented. There is one Chinese character for each clan. The fifth character is an alternate character for the smallest of the Kang clans, and is the result of a scribal error which was introduced in 1908. That segment of the smaller Kang clan which was labeled with the alternate character still uses it and recognizes it as the character for their surname. The largest clan, the Kang family of Chinju, first appears in the historical record in ad 597. Many members of the largest Kang clan still live in the area of Chinju of Kyongsang Province. The second Kang clan is centered on Cheju Island. The two smaller Kang clans have only a few households in all of Korea.

Scottish and Irish: reduced form of McNay. English: variant of Nye. French: habitational name from places so called in Manche and Pyrénées Atlantiques, possibly named with Latin Nadium, from a Gaulish personal name, Nadius. Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a tailor or embroiderer, from a derivative of naaien ‘to sew’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): Yiddish equivalent of German Neu.

Japanese (rare in Japan): the most usual rendering is ‘gold’; bearers are most likely descended from immigrants named Kim, from the ancient Korean Shilla kingdom. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): one of the many forms of Cohen. Polish (Kon): from kon ‘horse’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who bred or cared for horses or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a horse.

English, French, and Dutch: nickname for someone with chestnut or auburn hair, from Middle English, Old French bay, bai, Middle Dutch bay ‘reddish brown’ (Latin badius, used originally of horses). English: from the Middle English personal name Baye, Old English Beaga (masculine) or Beage (feminine). Scottish: reduced form of McBeth. German: from the Germanic personal name Baio. The name is also found in Denmark and Norway, where it may be a short form of German Bayer or from baygh, originally a loan word from French denoting a type of fabric.

Chinese : from the title Marquis of Ji, which was awarded to a descendant of an ancient emperor. In due course his descendants adopted Ji as their surname. This character also means ‘write down’ or ‘record’. Chinese : from a term meaning ‘youngest brother’, which was also used as a personal name. The descendants of some of these youngest brothers adopted Ji as their surname. Chinese : there are two sources of this character as a surname. The first is from Bo Shu, a great-grandson of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc). He was given an honorary surname, Ji, which was adopted by his descendants and later slightly altered to another character for Ji (a prescient decision, as the older character now means ‘prostitute’ in modern Chinese, while the altered form means ‘auspicious’). The second source is from Manchuria. Chinese : from the state of Ji during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Chinese : from a byname of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc), who supposedly acquired the name from the Ji river, by which he lived as a boy. A branch of his descendants kept the surname, and it was from this branch that the rulers of the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) claimed descent. Chinese : from one of the characters in the word dianji ‘library’, ‘collection of classical books and historical records’. In the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), there existed an official in charge of classical books and historical records. Descendants of at least one such official adopted this character as their surname. Chinese : from part of the name of an area called Huiji. A king of the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc) granted this area to his son, and its name was subsequently adopted by the son’s descendants as their surname. At the beginning of the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 AD) a branch of this clan move to an area in present-day Anhui province called Ji Mountain. The characters for Ji in the names Huiji and ‘Ji mountain’ are very similar and are pronounced the same; this branch of the family modified the surname to correspond to the name of their new home in Ji mountain.

Chinese : from a Chinese character meaning ‘cattail’, a long grass that grows in ponds. A family that owned ponds containing extraordinarily long cattails came to be called by this name. Chinese: see Bu. Korean: there is only one Chinese character and one clan for the surname Pu. There is no historical information on the founder of this clan, but there is a legend which tells of three men who appeared from a cave on the north side of Cheju Island’s Halla Mountain. These three men were the founders of the Yang, Ko, and Pu clans. The mythological founder of the Pu clan was Pu Ul-la. Shortly after the three men emerged from the cave, a box washed up on the shore of the island. Inside the box were three beautiful women, horses, cows, and agricultural seed. From these beginnings, the three established Cheju Island’s T’amnaguk kingdom and ruled peacefully for centuries. Unlike the descendants of Yang and Ko, however, the descendants of Pu were for the most part content to remain on Cheju Island. A 1930 census revealed that 80% of bearers of the Pu surname were still located on Cheju Island. Pu is considered a rare surname in Korea today.

variant of Scottish and English Hogg. possibly an altered spelling of Norwegian Haug.

Chinese : in the state of Song during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc) there existed a leader who was posthumously given the name of the duke of Mu. His descendants adopted Mu as their surname. Chinese : variant of Mou 1. Hawaiian: unexplained.

Korean: variant of Chong. Czech: nickname for a lively young man, juný (ultimately cognate with French Jeune and English Young).

Scottish: variant spelling of Kay. French: probably a variant of Quay.

Chinese : variant of Zhang 1. Korean: variant of Chang

Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi: Hindu (Kayasth) name, from Bengali daš ‘votary’, ‘servant’, from Sanskrit dasa ‘slave’, ‘servant’. It is also commonly used as the final element of compound given names, for example Bhagavandas ‘servant of god’, Mohandas ‘votary of Mohan (an epithet of the god Krishna)’.

Chinese : variant of Zhao. Chinese : variant of Chow 1. Chinese : variant of Cao. Chinese : the Chinese character for this name means ‘nest’. Its use as a surname has its origin in Chao Lake in modern Anwei province. The lake gave its name to the state of Chao, which dates back to the Yin dynasty (1401–1122 bc). The name of the state of Chao was in turn adopted by descendants of its ruling class. Portuguese (Chão) and Galician: from a common field name derived from Latin planus ‘level’, ‘even’, ‘flat’.

Variant spelling of English Pinn. French and Dutch: from Old French pin ‘pine’, a topographic name for someone living by a pine tree or in a pine forest, or a habitational name from a place named with this word. Cambodian: unexplained.

Muslim: from a personal name or status name based on Turkish khan ‘ruler’, ‘nobleman’. This was originally a hereditary title among Tartar and Mongolian tribesmen (in particular Genghis Khan, 1162–1227), but is now very widely used throughout the Muslim world as a personal name. In Iran and parts of the Indian subcontinent it is used as an honorific title after a person’s name.

Indonesian: unexplained. German: habitational name from Lieme in Eastphalia, named with lim ‘mire’.

Chinese : from the name of a state of Xin that existed during the Xia dynasty. King Qi (2197–2188 bc) granted this state to one of his sons, whose descendants adopted a modified form of the character for Xin as their surname.

English: unexplained. Chinese : see Pan 2.

Korean: there are two Chinese characters for this surname. The founding ancestors of all Korean Im clans were originally from China. Some sources indicate that there are 216 clans that use the most common character, but only two—the Naju Im family and the P’ongt’aek Im family—have actually been documented. The founding ancestor of the P’yongt’aek Im family, Im P’algup, immigrated to Korea from China during the Tang Dynasty and settled in the P’yongt’aek area. The Naju Im clan is said to be descended from the P’ongt’aek Im clan. Members of the Im clans which use this more common character are found throughout the peninsula. Although some sources indicate that there are 120 clans that use the other Im character, only two of these are documented: the Im clan of Changhung and the Im clan of P’ungch’on. The founders of these two clans are also from China. The founders of both the Changhung Im clan and the P’ungch’on Im clan came to Korea during the Koryo period (ad 918–1392), the latter while escorting a princess bride to the Koryo court. About fifty percent of the Ims bearing the less common character as a surname live in South Ch’ungch’ong province.

Korean (Ch{ou}ng): there are three Chinese characters used to represent the Ch{ou}ng surname. The clans that use two of these characters are quite rare and are mostly found in Ch{ou}lla province; their origins are obscure. The more common of the three clans is the oldest and is widely distributed throughout the peninsula. Only the clans which use this more common character will be treated here. Some sources indicate that there are 215 separate Ch{ou}ng clans, but only 32 of them can be documented. The earliest and largest Ch{ou}ng clan began in 32 ad when Chibaekho, one of the six ruling elders of pre-Shilla Korea, received the surname of Ch{ou}ng from the Shilla King Yuri Isag{uu}m (ad 24–57). Ch{ou}ng is one of the most common Korean surnames. Chinese : variant of Zhuang. Chinese : Cantonese form of Zang 1. Chinese : variant of Zhong. Chinese : variant of Zhang 1. Chinese : variant of Zong.

English: from a Middle English personal name, Kin, Kinna, which is a shortened form of any of various Old English names beginning with Cyne ‘royal’, for example Cynesige (see Kinsey). Dutch: nickname for someone with a pointed or jutting chin. Dutch: from Middle Dutch kinne ‘kin’. Hungarian: nickname from kín ‘pain’. Variant of Korean Kim.

Italian (Alò): perhaps from an Italian adaption of the Catalan personal name Eloi, equivalent of Italian Eligio, from French Eloy. The cult of St Eligio, patron of horses and blacksmiths, was very popular in the Middle Ages. Alternatively, the family name could be from Greek alós ‘prisoners’, ‘captives’. Spanish: unexplained. Samoan and Hawaiian: unexplained.

Chinese : surname borne by descendants of a man named Ju, who lived during the early part of the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Chinese : variant of Zhu 1. Korean: variant of Chu.

Scottish and English: unexplained; possibly a respelling of Munn, from Old Norse Munni, Munnr, a byname meaning ‘mouth’. Korean: there are two Chinese characters for the surname Mun. Although some records indicate that there are as many as 131 Mun clans, only three can be traced. The founding ancestor of the oldest of these, the Namp’yong Mun clan, was named Mun Ta-song and was born in 472. According to legend, he was found by Shilla King Chabi Maripkan in a stone box at the end of a rainbow by a lotus pond. The Chinese character Mun was inscribed in the box, so the king gave that as a surname to the child. The founders of the other two Mun clans were originally named Cha and Kim, but after studying in China they changed their names to Mun (the Chinese character Mun means ‘writing’ or ‘literature’).

Chinese : from the honorary surname, Jin Tianshi of Shao Hao, a son of the legendary emperor Huang Di of the 26th century bc. The character for jin also means ‘gold’ or ‘metal’. Some later descendants of Shao Hao adopted Jin as their surname. Chinese : from the name of Jin Shang, a chief official in the state of Chu during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Some of his descendants adopted this surname. Chinese : from the name of the Jin river. Wu Wang, the first king of the Zhou dynasty (1122–16 bc), granted the state of Tang to his third son. Since the Jin river flowed through it, the name of the state was later changed to Jin. Descendants of the third son adopted the new name of the state name as their surname. Korean: variant of Chin 4. Japanese: ‘ranks’ or ‘battle array’. The name is not common in Japan.

Chinese : variant of Ruan. Cambodian: unexplained. probably from a native American language in Mexico, unexplained.

Korean: unexplained.

Indian (Panjab): Hindu (Arora) and Sikh name based on the name of a clan in the Arora community. The Arabic word du?a ‘invocation’, ‘good wish’ is familiar to Panjabi speakers, but it is not clear whether it is connected with this name.

Southeast Asian: unexplained. Dutch: variant of Winne. English: variant spelling of Wynn.

Chinese : spelling variant of Jian. Chinese : from the name of a place called Kan which existed during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc) in the state of Lu, in present-day Shandong province. Some residents adopted the place name as their surname. Chinese : variant of Gan 1. Czech (Kán): from kanit meaning ‘to slobber or slaver’ and by extension ‘to gossip’, hence a nickname for a gossip. Czech: nickname from káne ‘buzzard’. German: derivative of the personal name Konrad. Jewish (Ashkenazic): one of the many forms of Cohen. Dutch: from Middle Dutch kan(ne), can(ne) ‘tankard’, ‘flagon’, ‘pitcher’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such vessels: a potter or a pewterer. Reduced form of Dutch van de Kan: habitational name for someone from De Kan in Veurne or a place called Kanne.

Chinese : from name of the region of Chen (in present-day Henan province). After overthrowing the Shang dynasty and becoming the first king of the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc, Wu Wang searched for a descendant of the great ancient emperors to guard their memory and offer sacrifices, to help retain the ‘Mandate of Heaven’, which was considered essential to remain in power. He found Gui Man, a descendant of the model emperor Shun (2257–2205 bc), and granted him the region of Chen, along with the title Marquis of Chen and one of his daughters in marriage. Gui Man was posthumously named Chen Hugong, and his descendants came to adopt the surname Chen.

Dutch: variant of Hopp 2 and 3. German: variant of Hoop 3.

English: unexplained. Chinese: see Pan.

Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi: Hindu (Baidya, Kayasth) name, from Sanskrit sena ‘army’, ‘armament’. It occurs frequently in Sanskrit literature as the final element of compound names.

Dutch and North German: topographic name for someone living by a quayside, from Dutch kaai ‘quay’, German Kai (which was borrowed from the Dutch). Danish and Frisian: from the Danish personal name Kai, Kaj, Kay, which is of uncertain origin, most likely from Frisian or Latin Caius. Japanese: the original meaning is probably ‘shell’, but the name is written phonetically with two characters meaning ‘first class’ or ‘shell’, plus ‘beauty’. Though the surname is found mostly in the island of Kyushu, some families could have connections with the ancient province of Kai (now Yamanashi prefecture) in the mountains of central Honshu.

Filipino: unexplained.

French: habitational name from any of various places called Chalm, often recorded as La Champ, in Ardèche, Drôme, Haute-Loire, Isère, Lozère. Arabic: ethnic name for a Syrian or habitational name for someone from Damascus, from al sham, Arabic name for Syria, used in Syria itself to denote the city of Damascus. Chinese : variant of Zhan. Other Southeast Asian: unexplained.

English: unexplained. Jewish (from Ukraine): from the Yiddish male personal name Men, a pet form of either Mendel or Biblical Menachem. Cambodian: unexplained.

French: nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces, from the Old French title of rank duc ‘duke’ (from Latin dux ‘leader’, genitive ducis), or else an occupational name for a servant employed in a ducal household.

Korean (Kwon): there is only Chinese character for the Kwon surname. Some sources list as many as 56 clans, but only two are documented. One of these, the Andong Kwon clan, was founded by a Shilla aristocrat named Kim Shin who helped Wang Kon, the founder of the Koryo kingdom, establish himself as ruler in 918. The new king bestowed upon Kim Shin a new surname: Kwon, meaning ‘authority’. The Andong Kwon clan has one of the oldest extant printed genealogies in Korea. The Yech’on Kwon clan’s original surname was Hun. However, the name Hun was chosen for the Koryo king Myongjong’s posthumous name in 1197. To avoid having living people using a king’s posthumous name, the Hun family were directed to change their name to Kwon. The head of the Hun clan at this time became Kwon So, the founding ancestor of the Yech’on Kwon clan. Approximately two thirds of all present-day Kwon clan members live in the Kyongsang provinces. Chinese : variant of Guan 1. Chinese : variant of Guan 2.

English: variant spelling of Chinn. Chinese : variant of Jin 1. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Qian. Chinese : variant of Qin 1. Chinese : variant of Qin 2. Chinese : variant of Jin 2. Chinese : variant of Jin 3. Korean: there are four Chinese characters for the surname Chin, representing five clans. At least three of the clans have origins in China; most of them migrated to Korea during the Kory{ou} period (ad 918–1392).

Chinese : from a place name, Wan City, that existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) in Shaanxi province. Descendants of a marquise who was granted the territory adopted the city name as their surname. Chinese : variant of Wen 1. Chinese : variant of Yin 1. Dutch: occupational name for a maker or seller of winnowing fans, from Latin vannus. Scottish: variant of Wann.

Chinese : variant of Qiu 1. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Zhao. Chinese : variant of Qiu 2. Chinese : variant of Qiu 3. Chinese : variant of Qiu 4.

Korean (O): historically, there were two Chinese characters for the O surname, but by the late Koryo period (14th century ad), one of them had disappeared. Some records indicate that there are as many as 210 different clans for the remaining character, but only sixteen can be positively documented. All sixteen of these clans originate from the same ancestor, O Ch’om, who migrated to Korea from China during the reign of Shilla’s King Chijung (500–514 ad). Oh is a common surname throughout Korea. Japanese: Romanization of O ‘king’, the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese surname Wang. It is mostly borne by Japanese of Chinese descent or Chinese long-term residents in Japan.

Irish: unexplained. Americanized spelling of Czech and Slovak Chovan, a variant of Chovanec (see Hovanec).

Chinese : from the name of the area of Ye, in present-day Henan province. During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), a senior military adviser of the state of Chu was killed in battle; his son was granted the area of Ye, with the title Duke of Ye. The Duke of Ye was successful in battle, and his descendants adopted the place name Ye as their surname. Korean: variant of Yi.

Korean: there are four Chinese characters used for the Yang surname, but only two are common enough to consider here; they have between them eight clans. The founding ancestor of the Ch’ongju Yang clan was Chinese and stayed in Korea after escorting Koryo, King Kongmin’s future queen to Korea. The first historical ancestor of the Cheju Yang clan was a Shilla figure named Yang T’ang, but according to legend, his distant ancestor was one of three men who ascended from a cave on the north side of Cheju Island’s Halla Mountain. These three men were the founders of the Yang, Pu, and Ko clans. The legendary founder of the Yang clan was named Yang Ul-la. Some days after their emergence, a box washed up on the shore of the island. In the box were three women, horses, cows, and agricultural seed. From these beginnings, the three established Cheju’s T’amnaguk kingdom and ruled peacefully for 900 years. Later, descendants of the three men settled throughout Korea, although 40 percent of the Yang clan still live on Cheju island and in Cholla province. Chinese : from the name of the state of Yang during the Zhou Dynasty. The first king of this dynasty, Wu Wang (1122–1116 bc), had a son named Tang Shuyu; a descendant of his was enfeoffed the state of Yang, and later descendants adopted the name of the state as their surname. Chinese : from a region called Yang that existed in the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). Chinese : in the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), there existed in the state of Jin a senior adviser with the surname Yang-she. During the Warring States period (403–221 bc) his descendants fled to escape destruction by the conquering Qin, and simplified their surname to Yang. Laotian: unexplained.

Indian (northern states): Hindu name (Bania, Kayasth), from Hindi lala, a term of respect, used especially for members of Vaisya and Kayasth communities; typically bankers, merchants, tradesmen, schoolmasters, and clerks. It is probably related to Lal. Southern Italian: from modern Greek Lalas; the frequency of the name in the parochial records of Piana degli Albanesi leads Caracausi to suggest it may have been taken to Italy by Albanian settlers.

Dutch: variant of Loven. Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Chinese : from the name of a place called Quwo, which existed in the state of Jin during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). A duke’s son was granted this place as a fiefdom, and in due course his descendants adopted Qu as their surname. Chinese : from the name of one of the ‘Three Gorges’ of the Yangtze river, Qutang Gorge. The first character of the name of the gorge gave its name to residents of the area. Chinese : from a city named Qu in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). After it was granted to a member of the royal family, descendants adopted the name of the city as their surname.

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Norwegian: variant spelling of Li 4. In Norway this is the most frequent spelling. Dutch (de Lie): from a short form of the saint’s name Odilia, the Latin form of a Germanic name Odela, from othala ‘paternal inheritance or possession’. Variant of Korean Li.

Chinese : variant of Gao.

Chinese : according to legend, this name comes from Bai Huang, the name of a prehistoric Chinese leader. At a later date, the kingdom of Bai in the area of present-day Henan province gave its name to descendants of its ruling clan. The Chinese character for this name may also mean ‘cypress’. Chinese : from the name of the Victorious Duke Bai of the kingdom of Chu, who lived during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). This Chinese character may also mean ‘white’ or ‘clear’. Korean: variant of Pae.

Irish and Scottish: variant of Ruane. Spanish (Ruán): possibly from ruán ‘roan’ (a color of horses), a variant of Ruano 2. Chinese : from the name of the state of Ruan, which existed during the later Shang dynasty (sometimes called the Yin dynasty, 1401–1122 bc). After this state was conquered by Wen Wang shortly before the Zhou dynasty displaced the Shang dynasty, the Ruan ruling class adopted the place name as their surname.

German: of uncertain origin. Perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a shoemaker (of light, slipperlike shoes), from Middle High German socke ‘sock’; East German from a Slavic personal name Sock. Compare Sokol.

German: of uncertain origin; probably from Old High German buan ‘to live at a place’, or an occupational name from Middle High German bu, bou ‘cultivation’ or perhaps from a short form of compounds with this element, such as Bauhofer, Baumann. French: of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of Beau meaning ‘handsome’, though it has also been suggested that it may derive from an obsolete personal name of Germanic origin. Chinese : variant of Bao 1. Chinese : variant of Bao 2. Chinese : variant of Bao 3.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a newcomer to an area, from Middle High German niu(we), German neu ‘new’.

English, Danish, Dutch, etc.: variant of Jan. Chinese : variant of Ren 1.

Hispanic: unexplained. German: of uncertain origin. From a short form of Antonius (see Anthony) or a humanist form of Ten, perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a mintmaster, from Middle Low German ten(e) ‘blank’ (metal piece from which coins were struck).

Chinese : Cantonese variant of Qin 1. Korean: variant of Chon. English (Wiltshire): variant spelling of Chunn.

German: unexplained.

Scottish and French: from a short form of Thomas.

English: nickname for the taller of two men with the same name, from Old English leng(ra) ‘longer’, ‘taller’, comparative of lang (see Lang). German: variant of Lang. Chinese : from an ancient official title, Lingguan, denoting a court official in charge of music. The character for Ling is written similarly to that for Leng (), and the surname evolved to the latter form. Cambodian: unexplained.

Muslim: from the Arabic female personal name Hana’ ‘bliss’, ‘happiness’.

Chinese : from a character meaning ‘prince’. There are numerous unrelated Wang clans, descendants of various princes of the Shang (1766–1122 bc) and Zhou (1122–221 bc) dynasties, including in particular descendants of the Shang dynasty prince Bi Gan and descendants of Bi Gonggao, 15th son of the virtuous duke Wen Wang, who was granted the state of Wei (a different state of Wei than that granted the eighth son; compare Sun). Chinese : from the name of a state or area called Wang. From ancient times through the Xia (2205–1766 bc) and Shang (1766–1122 bc) dynasties there existed a state of Wang. Later, during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), there also existed an area named Wang in the state of Lu. Some descendants of the ruling class of both areas took the place name Wang as their surname. Korean: there is one Chinese character for the surname Wang. Some sources indicate that there are fifteen Wang clans, but only two can be identified: the Kaesong Wang clan and the Chenam Wang clan. The Kaesong Wang clan, which originated in China, ruled the Korean peninsula for almost five hundred years as the ruling dynasty of the Koryo period (918–1392). There are some indications that the Kaesong Wang clan was present in the ancient Choson Kingdom (?194 bc). When the Chonju Yi clan seized power in 1392 and established the Choson kingdom, many of the members of the Kaesong Wang clan changed their names and went into hiding to avoid being persecuted by the new ruling dynasty. The Chenam Wang clan is also of Chinese origin. The Chenam Wang clan is much smaller than the Kaesong Wang clan. German and Dutch: from Middle German wang, Middle Dutch waenge, literally ‘cheek’, but also in southern German having the transferred sense ‘grassy slope’ or ‘field of grass’. It was thus either a topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow or a descriptive nickname for someone with noticeable cheeks (for example, round or rosy). Jewish (Ashkenazic): either a borrowing of the German name (see 4), or else a regional name for a Jew from Hungary (compare Russian Vengria ‘Hungary’). Scandinavian: variant spelling of Vang 1.

English: variant of Lum. Dutch: perhaps from a short form of a Germanic personal name, Lieman or Liemaar. Korean: variant of Im. Chinese : Fujian variant of Lin 1. Filipino: unexplained.

Chinese : from the place name Gu. Records of the this surname go back to the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc), when there existed a state called Gu. Much later, during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), there existed another state of Gu. Eventually, some descendants of the ruling class of both these areas adopted the place name as their surname. Chinese : from a word meaning ‘valley’. During the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) there existed in the state of Qin a certain Viscount Fei Zi, a descendant of the legendary emperor Zhuan Xu of the 26th century bc. Viscount Fei Zi was granted the area Qin Valley, and his descendants later adopted the word gu ‘valley’, as their surname. Chinese : from the name of the grandfather of the virtuous duke Wen Wang (1231–1135 bc), known as Gu Gong Tan Fu. The character for Gu, which also means ‘ancient’, was adopted by some of his descendants as a surname.

Chinese : from an ancient territory called Huang. Perhaps the most famous and revered of the ancient Chinese emperors is Huang Di (2697–2595 bc), considered father of the Chinese people. He is also known as ‘the Yellow Emperor’, since Huang also means ‘yellow’. Surprisingly, though, Huang Di is not credited with being a direct source of the surname. A descendant of his was granted the fief of the territory of Huang, which later served as the surname for certain descendants of the ruling family.

Scottish: reduced form of McKay. French: topographic name for someone who lived in a house on a quayside, from Old French quai ‘quay’.

Chinese : from the name of a village called Pang, which was granted to a descendant of Bi Gonggao, the 15th son of the virtuous duke Wu Wang, whose magnanimous rule led to the establishment of the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc. Later descendants adopted the name of the village as their surname. Chinese : from the name of a prince of the Yin dynasty (1401–1122 bc), Pang Boling. Chinese : variant of Peng. Korean: there are five Chinese characters for this surname; only one, however, is common enough to warrant treatment here. The clan associated with this character is the Onyang Pang. The founding ancestor of this clan was a Tang Chinese named Pang Chi, who lived in Hunan province, China, until his migration to Shilla in 669. There is a gap in the records after Pang Chi. The ancestor who settled in the Onyang area was named Pang Un. He served the early Koryo Wang Dynasty faithfully, so when he retired to the Onyang area, local geographic features were named after him and many of his descendants continued to live there, hence the name of their clan. Variant of German Bang.

Japanese: variously written, sometimes with characters used phonetically. It can mean ‘morning’, but the most likely meaning is ‘hemp’, making it a topographic or occupational name. Both forms are found mostly in Amami, one of the Ryukyu Islands. Hungarian: from Assa, a pet form of the ecclesiastical personal name Asbót (see Oswald).

Scottish: reduced form of McBee, a variant of McBeth. English: from Middle English be ‘bee’, Old English beo, hence a nickname for an energetic or active person or a metonymic occupational name for a beekeeper. Compare Beeman 2.

Korean and Chinese: see Yu.

Dutch and Scandinavian: from a short form of the personal name Lambrecht or Lempert (see Lambert). English: probably a variant of Lim (see Lui). Southeast Asian: unexplained.

Chinese : of uncertain origin, originating in Shaanxi province. It may be a variant of another name from the same region and pronounced the same way (see 4 below, ). Chinese : the origin of this name is closely tied up with that of Zhuang. During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), many members of the ruling class of the state of Chu adopted as their surname Zhuang, the posthumously given name of a king of Chu. The name Zhuang was kept until the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220), when, to avoid a taboo on having the same name as the ruler (then Liu Zhuang), many people changed their surname from Zhuang to Yan. Chinese : from the ‘style name’ Yan. Yi Fu, a descendant of the grantee of the fief of Zhu (see Zhu 1) during the Zhou dynasty had the ‘style name’ Yan. Descendants adopted his style name as their surname. Chinese : there are two accounts of the origin of this name: one a place named Yan Village and the other Yan Town. Both places existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Chinese : variant of Zhen. Chinese : from the name of a person called Yan An from the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). Chinese : variant of Yin 1. Chinese : from the name of a state of Yan that existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Americanized spelling of Jan.

Possibly Italian, also found in Spain: unexplained. French: from Old Occitan leva ‘import levy’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a collector of such duties. Greek: of uncertain origin; possibly from the Italian exclamation leva! ‘lift!’, used as a metonymic nickname for a sailor.

Chinese : from this character used as part of a personal name. Gao Yao, a great-grandson of the legendary emperor Zhuan Xu, was a minister under the model emperors Yao and Shun in the 23rd century bc. He is famous for being the first to introduce laws for the repression of crime. A descendant of his had Shu as part of one of his names; this character was adopted by some later descendants as their surname. Chinese: see Xu.

Korean: There are two Chinese characters for the surname Kong. One of these is borne by only one clan, the other by two clans. One of the Kong clans claims Confucius as its ancestor, the 53rd ancestor of Confucius having migrated from his home in China to Koryo and settled in Ch’angwon, where his grave can still be seen today. The other two Kong clans, the Kimhae Kong and the Munch’on Kong clans both sprang from descendants of a famous T’ang Chinese scholar, Kong Yun-po. A man named Kong Myong-nye founded the Kimhae Kong clan when he was exiled to Kimhae during the reign of Choson King Songjong in the latter half of the fifteenth century. The founder of the Munch’on Kong clan, Kong Chin-on, was banished to Munchon in Hamgyong province during the reign of Choson King Sejong during the first half of the fifteenth century. Chinese : Cheng Tang was the first king of the Shang dynasty, founded in 1766 bc. Although now known as Cheng Tang, his surname was Zi, and he had a ‘style name’ (given around age 20) of Tai Yi. Later descendants of his combined the character for Zi with the character for Yi, creating the character for Kong, and adopted the latter as their surname. The Con in ‘Confucius’ represents this surname. Chinese : variant of Jiang 1. Chinese : variant of Gong 1. Cambodian: unexplained. Danish: nickname from Danish kong ‘king’, or occupational nickname for someone in the service of the king.

nickname or occupational name from Middle High German hache ‘young man’, ‘guy’, ‘boy’, ‘servant’. possibly a North German topographic name, from Low German hach ‘dirty water’. (Eastern German) from a Slavic-influenced pet form of the personal name Hans.

Chinese : from the name of the youngest son of Duke Wu Gong of the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). He was brought up by a doting mother and became an arrogant and domineering man. Upon being granted a fief, he raised an army with the goal of overthrowing his elder brother, Duke Zhuang Gong. Hearing of this, the latter remarked, ‘excessive unrighteous behavior must die of itself’, and as he expected, his younger brother failed. Nevertheless some of his descendants adopted Duan as their surname. Another source of the name is from Duan-gan Mu of the state of Wei during the Warring States period (403–221 BC). His descendants simplified Duan-gan to Duan and adopted that as their surname.

Chinese : variant of Lu 1. Chinese : variant of Lei 1. Hawaiian: unexplained. Italian: unexplained.

Cambodian: unexplained. Peruvian: unexplained. The etymology is not Spanish; it is probably Quechuan. English: unexplained.

English: variant spelling of Nye. Chinese : from the name of Nie City, which existed during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). It was granted to a son of a duke of the state of Qi; his descendants adopted the name of the city as their surname.

Chinese : the origin of this name goes back 4500 years to a grandson of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc), surnamed Hui. Hui invented bows and arrows, and was put in charge of their production. In honor of his deeds, he was given as surname the character pronounced Zhang, which is composed of the symbols for ‘bow’ and ‘long’, meaning to ‘stretch open a bow’. Zhang has now become one of the most common names in China. Chinese : from the name of an area called Zhang in present-day Shandong province. During the Western Zhou dynasty (1122–771 bc) a fief was made of this area. It was later conquered by the state of Qi; at that time the former rulers of conquered states were not allowed to take the name of their state as their surname. The former ruling class of Zhang fortunately were able to drop off a small portion of the character for Zhang and still leave another character also pronounced Zhang. This modified character became their surname.

German: nickname for a ruffian, earlier for a hairy person, from Middle High German ruch, ruhe, rouch ‘hairy’, ‘shaggy’, ‘rough’. English: from a medieval personal name, a variant of Ralph. Italian (Sicily): from a local variant of the personal name Rao, an old form of Ra(o)ul, composed of the Germanic elements rad ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ + wolf ‘wolf’. Compare Ralph. Indian: variant of Rao.

Korean: variant of Chae. Hawaiian: unexplained. Hispanic (Guatemala and Mexico): unexplained; perhaps a variant spelling of Che.

North African (Muslim): probably from a personal name based on of Arabic ?diya? ‘light’, ‘glow’, ‘illumination’.

Dutch: from a pet form of a Germanic name formed with the unattested element þeodo- ‘people’, ‘tribe’ + a second element beginning with m-, as in Dietmar (mari, meri ‘famous’). Possibly an altered spelling of German Thieme.

variant of Range. topographic name for someone who lived by a bend or slope in a thoroughfare, from rang ‘bend’. from a short form of a Germanic personal name based on rang, rank ‘curved’, ‘bending’; ‘slender’.

Chinese : from the name of the ancient state of Wu in what is now Jiangsu province. In the 13th century bc, the state of Zhou was ruled by Tai Wang, who had three sons: Tai Bo, Zhong Yong, and Ji Li. The eldest sons, Tai Bo and Zhong Yong, believing that their father wished the youngest son, Ji Li, to inherit the reins of power, left the Zhou homeland with a group of followers and traveled southeastward to east-central China, where they established the state of Wu. Their descendants eventually adopted Wu as their surname. Ji Li stayed on to rule the Zhou and became the father of the famed virtuous duke Wu Wang, to whom those named Zhou (see Chow) trace their ancestry. Thus, the surnames Wu and Zhou are traced to the same ancestor, Tai Wang. Chinese : Cantonese variant of Hu. Chinese : from the name of Ji Wu, a son of Ping Wang (770–719 bc), the first king of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. His descendants adopted the given name Wu as their surname. Chinese : from the name of Wu Can, an official of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). At one time, the states of Chu and Jin were at war. The general of Chu viewed the strong position of the Jin and recommended retreat. However, a minor official, Wu Can, performed an analysis of the situation which concluded that an attack would be better. The prince of Chu agreed with Wu Can, which resulted in a victory over the Jin. Wu Can then became a senior official and used part of his given name, Wu, as his new surname. Chinese : from the name of Wu Peng, doctor of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc).

English: from the Old Norse and Middle English personal name Ing(a), a short form of various names with the first element Ing- (see Ingle). English: habitational name from an Essex place name, Ing, which survives with various manorial affixes in the names Fryerning, Ingatestone, Ingrave, and Margaretting, and which is probably from an Old English tribal name Geingas ‘people of the district’. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): nickname from Yiddish ing ‘young’. Chinese : possibly a variant of Wu 1. Chinese : possibly a variant of Wu 4.

Chinese : see Jia. American Indian (Choctaw and other): unexplained. Spanish (Chía): generally a habitational name from Chía in Uesca province, but in some cases possibly a nickname from chía, denoting a kind of cape.

English: habitational name from either of two places, one in South Yorkshire (formerly in Derbyshire) and the other near Hereford. The former gets its name from Old English dor ‘door’, used of a pass between hills; the latter from a Celtic river name of the same origin as Dover 1. In some cases, the name may be topographic, from Middle English dore ‘gate’. Irish: in County Limerick a reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Doghair ‘descendant of Doghar’, a byname meaning ‘sadness’; alternatively, according to MacLysaght, it could be from De Hóir, a name of Norman origin. Outside Limerick it may be from French Doré (see below). French (Doré): nickname from Old French doré ‘golden’, past participle of dorer ‘to gild’ (Late Latin deaurare, from aurum ‘gold’), denoting either a goldsmith or someone with bright golden hair. Hungarian (Dore): nickname from dore ‘stupid’, ‘useless’ ‘mad’.

Indian (Panjab): Hindu (Khatri) and Sikh name, based on the name of a clan in the Khatri community, from Sanskrit suri ‘sun’, ‘priest’, ‘sage’. It is also an epithet of Krishna. Hungarian (Súri): habitational name for someone from any of several places called Sur, in Komárom and Veszprém counties and in former Pozsony county in Hungary, now in Slovakia.

Chinese : from the name of a territory that existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Chinese : from the name of a fiefdom called Xiao (in present-day Anhui province) that existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). A descendant of the ruler of the state of Song was granted this fiefdom and subsequently his descendants adopted the place name as their surname.

South German: from Middle High German gehau ‘(mountain) clearing’, hence a topographic name for a mountain dweller or possibly an occupational name for a logger. South German: topographic name for someone who lived by a mineshaft, from Middle High German kouw(e) ‘mining hut’. Chinese : possibly a variant of Gao.

Korean (Ch{ou}n): there are three Chinese characters for the surname Ch{ou}n. Some sources number the clans which use the most common character as high as 178, but only seventeen have been documented. All of these descend from a common ancestor, Ch{ou}n S{ou}p. The founding king of the Kogury{ou} kingdom (37 bc–ad 668) had three sons, the youngest of whom went south and established what would later become one of Kogury{ou}’s rival kingdoms, Paekche. This son took with him ten servants, one of whom was Ch{ou}n S{ou}p. Five clans use the second most common Chinese character for their surname. These clans descended from different ancestors, at least two of whom migrated to Korea from China. The clan which uses the least common character, the Mun’gy{ou}ng Ch{ou}n, descends from an ancestor named Ch{ou}n Yu-g{ou}m. Ch{ou}n Yu-g{ou}m was a minister sent from China to visit the Kory{ou} court in the mid 14th century. He decided to stay in Korea and married the elder sister of a famous Kory{ou} general, Ch’oe Y{ou}ng. When the Kory{ou} kingdom fell to the Chos{ou}n kingdom in 1392, Ch{ou}n abandoned his government post and retired to the countryside to pass the remainder of his years in peaceful obscurity.