Ancient Chinese Last Names: Royal, Noble, and Dynasty Surnames

古What Are the Oldest Chinese Last Names?

The oldest Chinese last names are the eight great clan names: Ji, Jiang, Yao, Ying, Si, Yun, Gui, and Ji (姞 “jee”). Each one has the sign for woman (女 “nyoo”).

These eight names come from the time before the Zhou dynasty. Each one belonged to a large, old clan. Later kings and nobles came from these clans. The table below shows all eight.

• 姬JiJīsounds like “jee”The Zhou kings
• 姜JiangJiāngsounds like “jyahng”The Yan Emperor and the state of Qi
• 姚YaoYáosounds like “yow”The wise ruler Shun
• 嬴YingYíngsounds like “ying”The Qin rulers
• 姒SiSìsounds like “sih”Yu the Great and the Xia dynasty
• 妘YunYúnsounds like “yoon”Old clans of the south
• 妫GuiGuīsounds like “gway”The family of Shun
• 姞JiJísounds like “jee”An old clan of the north

Two of these names sound the same in English. Ji (姬 “jee”) and Ji (姞 “jee”) use different characters. That is why the character always tells you which family is which.

Some of these old Chinese last names are still in use. Jiang (姜 “jyahng”) and Yao (姚 “yow”) are both in today's list of common Chinese last names. Basketball star Yao Ming carries one of the oldest names in China.

帝What Last Names Did Chinese Emperors Have?

Each dynasty had its own royal name. Liu ruled the Han, Li ruled the Tang, Zhao ruled the Song, and Zhu ruled the Ming.

The table below lists Chinese dynasty last names, from the first kings to the last emperor. These are the Chinese emperors' last names of each age.

1. Xia姒Si
2. Shang子Zi
3. Zhou姬Ji
4. Qin嬴Ying
5. Han刘Liu
6. Jin司马Sima
7. Sui杨Yang
8. Tang李Li
9. Song赵Zhao
10. Yuan孛儿只斤Borjigin
11. Ming朱Zhu
12. Qing爱新觉罗Aisin-Gioro

Look at how many of these names are still common today. Liu, Li, Yang, Zhao, and Zhu are all in the top 15. Many families carry a royal name, even if they are not royal.

That happened for two reasons. Royal families grew very large over hundreds of years. And rulers often gave their own name to loyal helpers. The Tang rulers, for example, gave the name Li to many generals.

So royal Chinese last names are often big names today. The oldest ones, like Si and Zi, are the small ones. Most of those families took new names long ago.

贵Which Chinese Noble Last Names Ruled Beside the Emperors?

Wang, Xie, Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Li were the great noble Chinese last names. Each one belonged to a famous clan from one place.

The hometown mattered as much as the name. A Li from Longxi was a different clan from a Li from Zhaojun. So people always named the clan's home too.

In the Tang dynasty, seven clans stood above all others. They were called the "Five Surnames and Seven Families." The table below lists them.

Families all over China hoped to marry into these clans. A wedding with a Cui or a Lu was a great honor.

Earlier, in the Eastern Jin, two clans led the court. They were the Wang clan of Langya and the Xie clan of Chenjun. Wang Dao and Xie An were their best-known leaders. People still say "Wang and Xie" to mean grand old families.

堂Is There a Chinese Family Crest?

No. China does not use a family crest like those in Europe. Instead, each surname has a hall name, called a tanghao (堂号 “tahng-how”).

A hall name shows where a clan first became great. It is often written on a board above the front door of the family hall. Families also put it on gravestones, family books, and lanterns.

So a Chinese family crest is really a set of words, not a picture. The table below shows the hall names of eight big surnames.

Some families use a second hall name with a story. One Wang branch uses Sanhuai Tang, the Hall of Three Locust Trees. A Song dynasty official planted three trees and hoped his sons would rise high. They did.

If you search for a last-name family crest in Chinese style, look for these hall names. Many clan halls in Fujian and Guangdong still show them today.

氏How Did Ancient Chinese Family Names Begin?

Ancient Chinese family names began in two kinds. The xing was a big clan name. The shi was a smaller branch name, taken from land, a job, or a famous father.

Here is a short look at Chinese surname history. The xing came first, thousands of years ago. Then, in the Zhou dynasty, kings gave land to nobles. Each noble's family took a shi from that land.

That is why so many names are the names of old states. Zhao, Song, Chen, Wu, and Zheng were all small states in the Zhou dynasty. Other shi came from jobs. Sima (司马 “sih-mah”) meant the officer in charge of horses. Tao (陶 “tow”) meant a potter.

By the Qin and Han dynasties, about 2,200 years ago, the xing and shi joined into one. Every family, rich or poor, then used a single surname. That is the kind of name Chinese families carry today.

明What Last Names Were Common in the Ming Dynasty?

Zhu was the royal name of the Ming dynasty. Common names were much like today's, with Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu, and Chen near the top.

The Ming dynasty ran from 1368 to 1644. Its first emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, was born a poor farmer's son. He rose to rule all of China. His family name, Zhu (朱 “joo”), means bright red.

The Zhu royal family grew very large. Each branch of princes used a family poem to name its sons. One character from the poem went into each new generation's names. By the end of the dynasty, the royal Zhu clan had many thousands of members.

Chinese last names in the Ming dynasty were mostly the same big names we see today. Many Ming families wrote their names in family books. Those books help people trace their roots back 600 years.

赵Why Is Zhao the First Name in the Old Book?

About 1,000 years ago, in the Song dynasty, a teacher wrote a little book of names. He lived in the land of Wuyue, near today's Hangzhou. He had to choose which name came first. He picked Zhao (赵 “jow”) because Zhao was the family name of the Song emperors. Next came Qian (钱 “chyen”), the name of Wuyue's own king. Third was Sun (孙 “swun”), the name of the king's queen. Fourth was Li (李 “lee”), the name of a nearby royal family. So the first line reads "Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li." Children in China have chanted it ever since. The book became known as the Hundred Family Surnames.

1. 赵Zhao“jow”Song emperors
2. 钱Qian“chyen”Wuyue's king
3. 孙Sun“swun”the king's queen
4. 李Li“lee”a nearby royal family

改How Did Some Royal Families Change Their Names?

Some royal families changed their names to match Han ways. The best-known case is the Tuoba family of the Northern Wei.

The Tuoba came from the north and ruled much of northern China. In 496, their ruler Xiaowen changed the royal name from Tuoba (拓跋 “twaw-bah”) to Yuan (元 “ywen”). He asked other noble clans to take short, one-sign names too. So many long northern names became short ones.

Other ruling families kept their names. The Liao rulers were the Yelü (耶律 “yeh-lyoo”) clan. The Jin rulers, from 1115, were the Wanyan (完颜 “wahn-yen”) clan. Both names still live on today, in small numbers.

The Qing royal family is the newest case. After 1912, many Aisin-Gioro (爱新觉罗 “eye-shin-jweh-lwaw”) families took the name Jin (金 “jin”), meaning gold. Few still use the full four-character name.

问What Else Do People Ask About Ancient Chinese Last Names?