Origins of Chinese surnames
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 23, no. 22 (April 19-May 9, 2011): 5. The surname 葉 (Ye in Mandarin, Yap in Hokkien), ranks 42nd among surnames in China and 16th in the Philippines. This is deceiving because there are actually more of the clan members than meets the eye. The surname’s origin underwent …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 23, no. 20 (March 22-April 4, 2011 Tulay Fortnightly): 5-6. Various family associations in the Philippine Chinese community represent more than one surname. Yet, only one of them truly represents two surnames where clan members actually descended from a common ancestor: Chan (曾) and Cu (邱). This is …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 23, no. 18 (February 15-March 7, 2011): 5. Although Chinese surname 莊 (Ching in Hokkien, Zhuang in Mandarin) ranks outside the 100 most populous surnames in China, it ranks 12th among Chinese in the Philippines. We can trace its origin to Chu Zhuang Wang (楚莊王). He was king …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 24 (May 22-June 12, 2012): 5. Chinese surname 丁 (Ting in Hokkien, Ding in Mandarin) ranks 28th among Chinese in the Philippines and 48th in China. The Chinese character 丁 is quite simple: the capital letter T with a hook at the bottom of the vertical …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 22 (April 24-May 7, 2012): 5. Chu in Hokkien, Zhu in Mandarin, 朱ranks 27th among the Chinese in the Philippines. In China, it ranks 13th, mainly because Zhu is the imperial surname during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). China’s emperors had tens or even hundreds of wives …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 20 (March 20-April 9, 2012): 5. Chinese surname 顏 (Yan in Mandarin, Gan in Hokkien) ranks 26th among Chinese in the Philippines. However, in China, it ranks 112th, according to identification cards of the Ministry of Public Security in 2009, probably because 90 percent of Tsinoys …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, No. 18 (February 21-March 5, 2012): 5. The surname Yao (姚) has same pronunciation in Mandarin and Hokkien. It is the 62nd most populous surname in China, and ranks 25th among Chinese in the Philippines. The history of the surname Yao has to do with well-known and …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 23, no. 15-16 (January 18-31, 2011): 5. Desperate times call for desperate measures. When enemies come, there are many ways to protect oneself: run away and hide, change your name, wear a disguise, and so on. These practices are as old as time, especially in China. Self defense …
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 23, no. 13, (December 7-20, 2010), 5. The Chinese surname 許 (Co in Hokkien, Xu in Mandarin) ranks ninth among the Chinese surnames in the Philippines and 28th in China. Of the Philippines’ 15 presidents, two are heirs of the surname Co – Corazon Cojuangco Aquino and Benigno …
Chinese surname 余 (Yi in both Hokkien and Mandarin) ranks 29th among Chinese in the Philippines and 40th in China. Most Tsinoys with surname Yi in the Philippines are Cantonese. The Cantonese pronunciation of 余 is also Yi, and spelled Yee, Yi, or Yu. The origin of surname Yu originated from a famous government official …
