Origins of Chinese surnames
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 25, no. 7 (September 11-24, 2012): 5. Surname 梁 (Liong in Hokkien, Liang in Mandarin) ranks as the 20th biggest surname in China, but only 31st among Chinese in the Philippines. The origin of the surname Liang is quite simple. It was said that an heir of the …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 25, no. 5 (August 14-27, 2012): 5-6. Surname 邱 (Cu, Koo or Khu in Hokkien, Qiu in Mandarin) ranks 30th among Chinese in the Philippines. In China, it ranks only 65th. 邱 was written as 丘 without the 阝 ear character on the right side. In fact, this …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, nos. 15-16 (January 17-February 6, 2012): 5. The surname 高 (Ko in Hokkien, Gao in Mandarin) ranks 19th among Chinese surnames in China, and 24th among Chinese in the Philippines. Gao was first used as surname in China by Lü Fu (呂服), the son of the sixth …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 13 (December 6-19, 2011): 5. The Chinese surname 謝 (Xie in Mandarin, Sia in Hokkien), literally means thanks or salamat in Filipino. It ranks 23rd among Chinese surname in the Philippines, and 24th in China. It is said that 謝 was among the four big famous …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 11 (November 1-14, 2011): 5-6. The Chinese surname 呂, pronounced as Li in Hokkien or Lü in Mandarin, ranks 22nd among Chinese surnames in the Philippines and 43rd in China. 呂 is a very ancient surname in China. It is said that the Lü ancestor was …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 9 (October 4-17, 2011): 5. 戴 (Dai in Mandarin, Te in Hokkien) is the 21st most popular Chinese surname in the Philippines. It ranks 57th in China. The surname Te originates from the imperial clan of the Zhou (周) Dynasty (1066-256 BC). When the first emperor …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 7 (September 6-19, 2011): 5-6. Although it ranks only 28th among Chinese surnames in the Philippines, the surname 柯 (Ke in Mandarin, Cua in Hokkien) is of special significance in the Philippines because it is the Chinese surname of Domingo Lamco, the great-great-grandfather of our national …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 5 (August 9-22, 2011): 5. The surname 鄭 (Zheng in Mandarin, Ty in Hokkien) ranks 21st among common surnames in China, and 19th among Chinese in the Philippines. The origin of surname Ty is quite simple. It originated in 806 BC when Emperor Zhou Xuan Wang …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 3 (July 5-18, 2011): 5-6. 郭 (Guo in Mandarin, Que in Hokkien) is the 16th most common surname in China and also ranks 18th among Chinese surnames in the Philippines. The surname originated from the names of two ancient states in China, headed by Ji Zhong …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 23, no. 23 (May 23-June 13, 2011): 5. Surname 蘇 (Su in Mandarin, So in Hokkien) ranks 41st in China among Chinese surnames and 17th among Chinese in the Philippines. The origin of surname Su is quite interesting. It is linked to the herb su chao (蘇草), literally …
