The book of the hundred surnames
The Baijiaxing (百家姓), usually translated as the “Hundred Family Surnames,” is a short rhyming text that lists surnames in a form that can be memorized. It is traditionally dated to the early Song dynasty, and although “hundred” suggests a round number, the text actually lists several hundred surnames, including a number of two-character ones. “Hundred” here means “many.”
The book opens with 赵钱孙李 (Zhào, Qián, Sūn, Lǐ). The widely repeated explanation for this order is that Zhao was the surname of the Song imperial family, followed by surnames associated with the compiler’s circle and neighboring states, though details of the compilation are not fully certain. The point is that the order is not a ranking by population. The text is built in four-character rhyming lines, which made it handy as a primer. Along with other short rhymed texts, it was long used to teach children their first characters, and it served as a reading primer for centuries.
The phrase 老百姓 (lǎo bǎixìng), literally “the old hundred surnames,” is still used in Chinese for “ordinary people.” The expression shows how thoroughly the idea of the common surname has been absorbed into everyday language.
Common surnames today
Some surnames are shared by an enormous number of people. Wang (王), Li (李), and Zhang (张) are widely noted as among the most common, and Chen (陈), Liu (刘), and Yang (杨) are also very frequent. The Chinese surname pool is small compared with the population, so a given name carries much of the work of telling people apart. In contrast, many other surnames are rare, and some have been lost over time.
Exact rankings and figures change depending on the source and year, so it is best not to rely on specific numbers. A good rule is that a small number of surnames cover a large share of the population, while many others are held by only a few families.
Where surnames come from
Chinese surnames developed over thousands of years from several sources. Scholars describe a number of broad routes.
- Ancient clan names. Some of the oldest surnames, written with a 女 (nǚ, “woman”) component, as in 姜 (Jiāng), 姬 (Jī), and 姚 (Yáo), are often cited as hinting at early clan origins. The exact meaning of this pattern is debated.
- Fiefs and states. A noble family might take the name of a state or territory it held. Surnames such as Qin, Zhao, and Wei match old states, for example.
- Ancestor’s name or title. A family might adopt a distant ancestor’s personal name or courtesy name.
- Official posts and occupations. Some names reflect a hereditary job, such as Sima (司马, historically a military post) or Tao (陶, potter).
- Place of residence. Families took names from the villages or features near their homes.
- Imperial grants and changes. An emperor could bestow a surname as an honor, and families sometimes changed names to avoid a ruler’s taboo name or to escape trouble.
- Non-Han groups. As peoples of the north and elsewhere merged into the wider population, some adopted Chinese-style surnames, often simplified forms of earlier tribal names. This reflects the long history of exchange among groups, which also shaped Chinese culture more broadly.
In the early period, scholars distinguish between the xing (姓), a broader lineage name, and the shi (氏), a branch name often used by aristocrats. By the Han dynasty the two had merged into what we now call a surname. Because the history is complex, simple accounts should be treated as outlines.
Identity, ancestry, and belonging
A Chinese surname is more than a label. It connects a person to a patrilineal line, usually inherited from the father. That inheritance is why a family name often goes with ideas of ancestry and continuity, as seen in ancestor veneration. Marriage within the same surname was traditionally discouraged in many places, partly on the idea that those who shared a name might be related, although practice varied.
Surname identity can create practical bonds. In many regions, villages were once dominated by a single surname, and clan halls served as gathering places where relatives honored common ancestors. Clan genealogies recorded lineages and sometimes generation names. Overseas communities also formed surname-based associations that helped migrants find support and connections, a pattern seen in many Western diaspora communities.
Many families can say where their surname is “from,” naming an ancestral home (祖籍, zǔjí) that may be hundreds of years removed from where they live today. Some people feel strongly about this, and others hardly think about it.
Surnames across spelling and dialect
Because the same character is pronounced differently across Chinese dialects, a single surname can be written in several forms in Roman letters. The surname 陈, Chén in pinyin, may appear as Chan in Cantonese-speaking communities, or Tan in Hokkien-speaking communities. Likewise, 王 may be Wang, Wong, or Ong. This variation reflects the history of migration and early romanization, and it is one reason people with the same Chinese surname can appear to have different names abroad.
Do women keep their surnames?
In China, women traditionally keep their own surname after marriage, and children usually take the father’s surname, though the mother’s surname is increasingly an option in modern law and practice. Elsewhere, practice varies with local custom.
Surnames, in short, connect an individual to a long family story. The Hundred Surnames text captured only a snapshot of that story, but its title survives in the language as a way of naming the people as a whole.