Origins of Chinese surnames
The surname 施 (Shi in Mandarin, Sy or See in Hokkien) ranks 97th among the most populous family last names in China. However, among the Chinese in the Philippines, Sy has fifth place. The most famous Sy in the Philippines nowadays, of course, is Henry Sy of Shoe Mart. Cebu’s Gaisano clan and Hapee toothpaste […]
Previous issues of Tulay introduced the origins of the 10 most populous surnames in China, namely: 李 (Dy, Dee in Hokkien), 王 (Ong), 張 (Tiu), 劉 (Lao), 陳 (Tan), 楊 (Yu), 黄 (Ng, Uy), 趙 (Teo), 周 (Chiu), 吳 (Go). Now, we will present the origins of other Chinese surnames following the order of the […]
The surname Go is the 10th most populous in China. It is 吳,Wu in Mandarin. Wu clan members are actually related to the Zhou clan. They descended from the same royal ancestor. Their history is a very touching one. In the early 11th century BC, Gu Dan Fu (古亶父), who founded Zhou (周) State in […]
The ninth most populous surname in China is 周 (Zhou in Mandarin, Chiu in Hokkien). Yet, there is no 周 family association in the Philippines simply because there are not enough of the clan members living here. Nevertheless, there are Chius in the Philippines. Among the prominent Chiu family in Cebu is Francisco L. Benedicto […]
Tsinoys who carry the surname 趙 (Zhao in Mandarin, Tio in Hokkien, Tiu in Canton) is a minority among the Philippine Chinese. Yet in China, 25 million Chinese people have this surname… Making 趙 the 8th most populous there. The origin of 趙 is dual: it is based on a place in China, as well […]
There are more than 27 million Chinese who carry the 黃 surname, making it the seventh most populous in China. There are several stories about how the surname came to be, and all point to the state named 黃. In other words, the Huangs adopted the name of the state as their own. One story […]
The 楊 (Yu in Hokkien, Yang in Mandarin) clan is the eighth most populous in China. The first 楊 in China was the youngest son of Emperor Zhou Xuan Wang (周宣王) of late Western Zhou (西周) Dynasty (11th century -771 BC) named Shang Fu (尚父). He was conferred the title and territory at 楊, a […]
One in every 10 Tsinoys is a Tan (陳 Chen in Mandarin). It is the most populous surname in the Chinese-Filipino community, with almost 10 percent of Tsinoys carrying the family name. In China, more than 54 million Chinese bear this surname, making it the fifth most populous there. In the Philippines, during the late […]
With more than 65 million Chinese carrying this surname, 劉 (Lao in Hokkien, Liu in Mandarin) is certainly the fourth more populous family name in China. The origin of this surname has close links with the dragon. The earliest ancestor of the Laos was Liu Lei (劉累). He took care of the emperor’s dragons. Little […]
With a family tree that has stretched over 3,100 years, it is no wonder that the Chinese surname 王 (Ong in Hokkien, Wang in Mandarin) is the second most populous surname in China. More than 50 million people in China bear this surname. Furthermore, the migration of the Wang family to Fujian in the early […]