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There have been 23,813 surnames recorded throughout the history of China, of which 5,662 surnames are still in active use today, however, the top 100 make up 85.9% of the 1.39 billion population in China. In fact, 42.9 % of the Chinese people share the same 10 family names! So what are the most common family names in China? According to the official report released by China’s Ministry of Public Security in 2020, the most common surnames in China are:
Let’s check out the full list of the most commonly occurring surnames in China that includes details on each name’s origin and meaning. Top 10 Surnames in China Wang is the most common surname in China and in the world 1. 王 (Wáng): 101.5 Million 王 (Wáng) is the most common surname in China and in the world, which represents 101.5 million people. The character 王 means ‘king’. It’s composed of three horizontal lines representing the sky, earth and people, and a vertical line that connects them, indicating they are all ruled by the king. The family name 王 which has a royal origin is pronounced and spelled differently among various Chinese dialect groups. For Mandarin speakers, the surname is spelled ‘Wang’. Among Cantonese and Hakka speakers, however, this surname is spelled ‘Wong’. Hokkien speakers spell the surname Wang as ”Ong”. Finally, in Teochew, it’s spelled ‘Heng’. 2. 李 (Lǐ): 100.9 Million 李 (Lǐ) represents 100.9 million Chinese people. It used to be the most common surname in China, but it has now been replaced by 王 (Wáng). The surname 李 (Lǐ), meaning ‘plum’, originated from the plum tree, a totem in ancient China. It was the imperial surname in the Tang dynasty. 李 is generally spelled ’Li’ in Mandarin and Hokkien. In Cantonese and Hakka, it is spelled ‘Lee’ or ’Lei’. 3. 张 (Zhāng): 95.4 Million The third most common Chinese surname is 张 (Zhāng). The character 张 is in fact a drawing of a bow and arrows. It originated from 挥 (Huī), the grandson of the Yellow Emperor who was bestowed the surname 张 (Zhāng) after he invented the bow and arrow. The surname Zhang can be found in many other languages, for example, ‘Archer’ in English. 张 is pronounced and spelled differently among various Chinese speakers. In Mandarin Pinyin, the surname is spelled ‘Zhang’. In Taiwan, ‘Chang’, the traditional Wade-Giles spelling is used. Cantonese speakers spell the surname ‘Cheung’ or ‘Cheong’, Hakka speakers spell and pronounce it as ‘Chong’. Foochowese speakers spell it as ‘Tiong’ or “Diong”, and finally, in Hokkien, the surname is spelled ‘Teo’ or ‘Teoh’. 4. 刘 (Liú): 72.1 Million 刘 (Liú) is the fourth most common Chinese last name. You certainly don’t want to mess with anyone whose family name is 刘 (Liú), as the original meaning of the character is “kill’. Joking aside, 刘(Liú) was the royal surname in the Han Dynasty two thousand years ago. In Cantonese, Hokkien, and Teochew, it’s spelled and pronounced as ‘Low’ or ‘Lau’. In Hakka, it’s spelled ‘Liew’ or ‘Lew’. 5. 陈 (Chén): 63.3 Million The fifth most common family name in China is 陈 (Chén). It has its origin from the ancient kingdom Chen, which is located in Henan province today. ‘Chen’ is the Pinyin spelling used in Mandarin. Among Cantonese and Hakka speakers, the surname is spelled and pronounced ’Chan’. Hokkien and Teochew speakers spell it ‘Tan’. 陈 (Chén) is also the most common family name in Singapore and Taiwan. 6. 杨 (Yáng): 46.2 Million The sixth popular Chinese family name 杨 (Yáng) originally refers to ‘sun rising over poplar forest’, an ancient Totem from the Yang Kingdom founded during the 8th-9th century B.C. Yang is the standard Mandarin Pinyin spelling. Cantonese speakers spell it ‘Yeung’, ’Yeong’, or ’Young’. Hakka speakers use ’Yong’ instead of ‘Yang’, and Hokkien speakers spell and pronounce the surname as ’Ngeo’ or ’Yiu’. 7. 黄 (Huáng): 33.7 Million 黄 (Huáng) is the seventh most common surname in China. This surname has the meaning of yellow, and originated from the ancient Huang Kingdom founded in the 7th century B.C. The Mandarin spelling and pronunciation is ’Huang’. Cantonese, Hakka speakers, however, spell and pronounce ‘Huang’ as ‘Wong’. In Hokkien and Teochew, it’s spelled ‘Ng’, ‘Eng’, ‘Ooi’ or ‘Wee’. 8. 赵 (Zhào): 28.6 Million The eighth most common last name in China is 赵 (Zhào). It originated from the ancient kingdom Zhao. 赵 (Zhào) was the surname of the Song Dynasty royalty (year 960-1279). As a result, it appeared first in the famous Chinese book ‘The Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓 Bai Jia Xing) ’ which listed the top 100 Chinese surnames at that time. ‘Zhao’ is the Mandarin Romanization in Pinyin; however, in the Wade-Giles system still used in Taiwan, ‘Zhao’ is Romanized as ’Chao’. Cantonese speakers spell it as ’Chiu’ or ’Ziu’, and in Hokkien, it’s spelled and pronounced as ’Teo’. 9. 吴 (Wú): 27.8 Million The ninth most common Chinese surname 吴 (Wú) originated from the Wu Kingdom located in the present Jiangsu Province (Wu dialect was also named after this kingdom). The original meaning of 吴 (Wú) is ‘loud’, ‘noisy’. Cantonese and Hakka speakers spell and pronounce ‘Wu’ as ’Ng’. Hokkien and Teochew speakers spell it as ‘Goh’ or ‘Go’. In Foochowese, it’s spelled as ‘Ngu’. 10. 周 (Zhōu): 26.8 Million 周 (Zhōu) breaks into the top 10 surnames in China with 26.8 million people. The history of 周 (Zhōu) can be traced back to the era of Yellow Emperor (five thousand years ago). It has its origin from the Zhou clan at the time. The original meaning of 周 is ‘dragon’. In Taiwan, 周 (Zhōu) is Romanized ’Chou’ among Mandarin speakers. Cantonese speakers pronounce ‘Zhou’ as ’Chow’ or ’Chau’. Hakka and Hokkien speakers pronounce it as ’Chew’, ‘Chiu’, or ‘Chu’. Top Chinese Surnames Ranks 11-20 11. 徐 (Xú): 20.2 Million The surname 徐 (Xú) originated from the ancient kingdom Xu located in the present Anhui Province. The original meaning of the character is ‘slowly’, ‘calmly’. An alternate spelling of ‘Xu’ in Chinese dialects is ‘Hsu’. 12. 孙 (Sūn): 19.4 Million 孙 (Sūn) means ’grandchild, descendant’ in Chinese. The surname was the imperial family name of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period. 13. 马 (Mǎ): 19.1 Million 马 (Mǎ) means ‘horse’ in Chinese, however, as a surname, 马 (Mǎ) has nothing to do with the horse, but rather the area 马服 (Mǎfú) located in the present Hebei Province. A variant in spelling is ‘Mah’. Jack Ma's family name is Ma 14. 朱 (Zhū): 18.1 Million 朱 (Zhū) means ’vermilion red’. The surname refers to the ancient Kingdom of Zhu, which existed in what is now Shandong province. 朱 (Zhū) was the imperial surname of the Ming dynasty. The alternative spelling of ‘Zhu’ is ‘Chu’ based on Chinese regional dialects. 15. 胡 (Hú): 16.5 Million 胡 (Hú) means ‘beard’, ‘whiskers’ in Chinese. Duke of Chen Kingdom, a descendant of the Emperor Shun (2257–2205 B.C.) was bestowed the family name 胡 (Hú), and his descendants adopted this name as their surname. Hokkien speakers spell and pronounce the surname as ‘Oh’. 16. 郭 (Guō): 15.8 Million The original meaning of 郭 (Guō) is ‘outer city wall’. The surname refers to the ancient Kingdom of Xiguo. Among Cantonese speakers, ‘Guo’ is spelled and pronounced ’Kwok’. Hakka speakers use ’Kok’, and Hokkien speakers spell and pronounce it as ’Kuek’ or ’Kweh’. 17. 何 (Hé): 14.8 Million 何 (Hé) originally means ‘carry the load’ in Chinese. The surname 何 (Hé) can be traced far back to the Yellow Emperor period. However, the prevalent theory about the origin of the surname 何 (Hé) is that it stemmed and branched from the surname 韩 (hán). 18. 林 (Lín): 14.2 Million The Chinese surname 林 (Lín) means ‘forest’. In Cantonese, it’s spelled as ‘Lam’, while in Hokkien, Hakka, and Foochowese, it’s spelled as ‘Lim’. 19. 高 (Gāo): 14.1 Million The Chinese family name 高 (Gāo) can be literally translated as “high” or “tall”. It comes from the name of the area ‘Gao’ in the state of Qi during the Western Zhou dynasty (1122–771 B.C.). Some places, such as Taiwan, usually romanize this family name into ‘Kao’. In Hong Kong, it is romanized to ‘Ko’. In Macau, it is romanized to ‘Kou’. 20. 罗 (Luó): 14.0 Million 罗 (Luó) originally means ‘bird catching net’ in Chinese. The surname originated from the Luo Kingdom during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 B.C.). Some variants in spelling include ‘Loh’, ‘Law’ and ‘Lau’. Top Chinese Surnames Ranks 21-101 21. 郑 (Zhèng) 22. 梁 (Liáng) 23. 谢 (Xiè) 24. 宋 (Sòng) 25. 唐 (Táng) 26. 许 (Xǔ) 27. 邓 (Dèng) 28. 韩 (Hán) 29. 冯 (Féng) 30. 曹 (Cáo) 31. 彭 (Péng) 32. 曾 (Zēng) 33. 肖 (Xiāo) 34. 田 (Tián) 35. 董 (Dǒng) 36. 潘 (Pān) 37. 袁 (Yuán) 38. 蔡 (Cài) 39. 蒋 (Jiǎng) 40. 余 (Yú) 41. 于 (Yú) 42. 杜 (Dù) 43. 叶 (Yè) 44. 程 (Chéng) 45. 魏 (Wèi) 46. 苏 (Sū) 47. 吕 (Lǚ) 48. 丁 (Dīng) 49. 任 (Rèn) 50. 卢 (Lú) 51. 姚 (Yáo) 52. 沈 (Shěn) 53. 钟 (Zhōng) 54. 姜 (Jiāng) 55. 崔 (Cuī) 56. 谭 (Tán) 57. 陆 (Lù) 58. 范 (Fàn) 59. 汪 (Wāng) 60. 廖 (Liào) 61. 石 (Shí) 62. 金 (Jīn) 63. 韦 (Wéi) 64. 贾 (Jiǎ) 65. 夏 (Xià) 66. 付 (Fù) 67. 方 (Fāng) 68. 邹 (Zōu) 69. 熊 (Xióng) 70. 白 (Bái) 71. 孟 (Mèng) 72. 秦 (Qín) 73. 邱 (Qiū) 74. 侯 (Hóu) 75. 江 (Jiāng) 76. 尹 (Yǐn) 77. 薛 (Xuē) 78. 闫 (Yán) 79. 段 (Duàn) 80. 雷 (Léi) 81. 龙 (Lóng) 82. 黎 (Lí) 83. 史 (Shǐ) 84. 陶 (Táo) 85. 贺 (Hè) 86. 毛 (Máo) 87. 郝 (Hǎo) 88. 顾 (Gù) 89. 龚 (Gōng) 90. 邵 (Shào) 91. 万 (Wàn) 92. 覃 (Qín) 93. 武 (Wǔ) 94. 钱 (Qián) 95. 戴 (Dài) 96. 严 (Yán) 97. 欧 (Ōu) 98. 莫 (Mò) 99. 孔 (Kǒng) 100. 向 (Xiàng) Family Name or Given Name？ A Chinese person’s name consists of a 姓 (xìng) – family name, and a 名 (míng) – given name (also known as the ‘first name” in western culture). The family name is usually only one character, while the given name normally consists of one or two characters. Chinese people place more importance on the concept of a family than on any individual family member, hence, the family name comes before the given name. Take the Chinese name 王建国 (Wáng Jiànguó) for example, the first character 王 (Wáng) is the family name, and 建国 (Jiànguó) is the given name. How Important Is Family Name to Chinese People? Compared with Westerners, the Chinese have a totally different attitude toward surnames. Western families apparently place greater importance on selecting a cool, unique given name (e.g. North West or Audio Science) than carrying on an ordinary, common family surname (e.g. Smith or Jones). Chinese, on the other hand, really don’t care that much about given names and instead place greater importance on the extremely limited number of family names, as Chinese society regards family names as a symbol of one’s blood relationship. Feudal-minded people prefer sons simply because sons are more likely to inherit their family name. Similar to most other countries, children in China usually keep their father’s surname. Source: https:// Check out www.echinawire.com for more content! Subscribe by scanning below QR codes to get started.WorldWire is a diversified account which mainly publishes breaking world news, entertainment, lifestyle, culinary and sports news from around the world.
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