Yan (surname)

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Yan is a surname in several languages and the pinyin romanization for several Chinese surnames, including "严 (嚴)", "晏 (晏)", "偃 (偃)", "颜 (顏)", "言 (言)", "燕 (燕)", "阎 (閻)", "闫 (閆)", "鄢 (鄢)" in simplified (traditional) form.

These characters are romanised as Yen in the Wade–Giles romanization system which was commonly used before the early 80s. As such, individuals and institutions who had to romanize their Chinese names prior to that time, such as when having their books translated or publishing manuscripts outside of China, used "Yen" instead of "Yan". Such examples include Yenching University and the Harvard-Yenching Institute. The Yan surname in Taiwan is mostly spelled as Yen since only until recently has the government approved the use of pinyin romanization of names. The Cantonese romanization of these surnames is "Yim". As such, most people from Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora that emigrated prior to 1949 from Guangdong use the name Yim.

On many occasions, the surname "甄 (甄)" is also romanized as Yan in Cantonese. This name in Mandarin is romanized as Zhēn, see Zhen (surname).

Yan is also an alternative spelling of the Breton name Yann.

Latin alphabet[]

严 (嚴)[]

Further information: Yan (surname 严)

阎 (閻)[]

Main article: Yan (surname 阎)

闫 (閆)[]

闫 / 閆
RomanizationYan

Yan (simplified Chinese: 闫; traditional Chinese: 閆), pinyin Yán, originated as a variant of the surname 閻.

Notable people[]

顏 (颜)[]

Main article: Yan (surname 顏)

Yan You (颜友) was the first king of the Xiao Zhu (Ni) state [小邾(倪)国] and was originally known as Cao You (曹友). His ancestor was called Yan An (晏安) who inherited a piece of land, which later flourished into the Zhu kingdom, a feudal state of Lu (魯國). According to the judicial rules of that time, Cao You had to give up his surname in order to ascend the throne. He adopted his father Yi Fu's style name Bo Yan. From then on Cao You was known as Yan You (颜友). This officially made Yan You the first Yan in Chinese history.[1] Yan An (晏安) was the son of Luzhong (陸終), grandson of Zhurong clan (祝融) and Wuhui (吳回). Zhurong was said to be the son of Gaoyang (also known as Zhuanxu), a sky god. Zhuanxu was a grandson of the Yellow Emperor.

Cao (曹) are believed to be descended of the ancient Zhou kings (Ji (姬) was the ancestral name of the Zhou dynasty). The surname is derived of a kingdom called the State of Cao.[2]  The Ji (姬) family is traced from the miraculous birth of the Xia dynasty culture hero and court official Houji, a previously barren wife of the Emperor Ku (this origin allowed his descendants to claim a lineage from the Yellow Emperor as well) caused by his mother's stepping into a footprint left by the supreme god Shangdi. Shaohao is usually identified as a son of the Yellow Emperor. According to some traditions , he is a member of the Five Emperors.

晏[]

晏
RomanizationYan
Origin
Language(s)Chinese
Meaninglate, quiet

The surname 晏 (Yàn) is relatively uncommon; in 2008 it was the 202nd most common surname in China, shared by around 470,000 citizens. It has three main historical origins:

Near 600 BC, the minister Yan Ruo (晏弱) of the state of Qi took Yan as his last name after he was assigned to govern the town of Yan (modern day town of Yancheng of Qihe county of Shandong province).

According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the name of the fifth son of Zhuanxu was Yang'an (阳安) who chose to use the surname 晏 for his descendants.

According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Yan Long (晏龙), a minister of Emperor Yao is the earliest ancestor of the Yan surname on record.

Notable people[]

  • 晏嬰 Yan Ying (578-500 BC), prime minister of the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period.
  • 安孺子 An Ruzi (??-489 BC), also known as Yan Ruzi (晏孺子), ruled the state of Qi for a brief period after the death of Duke Jing of Qi.
  • 晏殊 Yan Shu (991-1055), writer and politician, served as prime minister during the Song dynasty
  • 晏陽初 Y. C. James Yen (1890-1990), Chinese educator and organizer known for his literacy work in rural areas around the world.
  • 晏紫 Yan Zi (born 1984), Chinese tennis player.
  • 晏紫东 Kevin Yan Zidong (10 December 1994), is a Chinese actor and singer.
  • 晏紫豪 Yan Zihao (born 18 January 1995), is a Chinese footballer

See also[]

  • 晏子春秋 Yanzi chunqiu, or Annals of Master Yan, is an ancient Chinese text dating to the Warring States period (475–221 BC) that contains a collection of stories, speeches, and remonstrations attributed to Yan Ying (晏嬰), a famous official from the State of Qi who served Duke Jing of Qi (r. 547–489 BC).

延[]

延

Yan (延) is a Chinese surname. It has various origins:

  • during the Han Dynasty, Xirong (西戎) the Loufan (樓煩) get surname Yan (延), branch of Pan (surname) (潘)
  • during the Northern Wei (北魏), Emperor Xiaowen (孝文帝) family get surname Yan (延)
  • during the Northern Wei (北魏), Xianbei noble's three-syllable surname was reduced to Yan (延)
  • during the Ancient, Yue people (越族) Baiyue (百越) get surname Yan (延) in Zhejiang the old Wu (state)

燕[]

See also: Former Yan and Yan (state)

Yan (燕) is a Chinese surname. It has various origins:

  • during the Ancient China, Ji (姞) family get surname Yan (燕) with title of Nanyan (state) (南燕國)
  • during the Zhou Dynasty, Ji (姬) family get surname Yan (燕) with title of Yan (state) (燕國)
  • during the Three Kingdoms Period, Wuhuan people use surname Yan (燕)
  • Chinese Murong family get surname Yan (燕) with title of Former Yan (前燕)

Burmese (ရန်ရ)[]

ရန်ရ
RomanizationYan
  • Yan Aung Kyaw (born 1989), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
  • Yan Aung Win (born 1992), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
  • Yan Paing (born 1983), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
  • Yan Yan Chan, Burmese singer

Breton and French-speaking people[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Gan Heritage Chapter E-Book".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Cao surname origins".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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