The surname An is a Chinese Surname () which literally means "peace" or "tranquility". It also serves as an abbreviation of ''Anxi'' (安息), meaning " Arsacid" in Chinese and can be romanized as ''On''. Visitors to China who came from Arsacid-held territories often took the name ''An''. In 2008, it was the 110th most common surname in the People's Republic of China, shared by over 1.7 million citizens.中国最新300大姓排名（2008
tatistics on the number of citizens with each surname in China, based on records of National Identity Cards" 2009-01-06. Accessed 20 Jun 2015. The surname is most common in

Northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions is not precisely defined and only serve to depict where there appears to be regional differences between the climate ...

. It is the 79th name on the '' Hundred Family Surnames'' poem.K. S. Tom.

989 Year 989 (Roman numerals, CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to he ...

(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. . During the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, another An (俺) was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Chinese surname.

Origins of An (安)

Iranian

Parthian

During the

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

and

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, the most common origin of the surname An was as a contraction of Anxi, meaning "Arsacid", and was thus given to people of Arsacid-territory origin, such as An Shigao, a nobleman from the

Arsacid Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqueri ...

. An Xuan, another

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

, followed An Shigao to

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

and assisted in his translations of Buddhist texts. During the 3rd Century, An Faqin (安法欽), a Parthian Buddhist from the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...

, came to Xijin (西晉).

Sogdian

In the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

period 9th century, An was also sometimes used as the name for the region of

Sogdia Sogdia (Sogdian language, Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also ...

; previously, Sogdians had exclusively used the surname of

Kang Kang may refer to: Places * Kang Kalan, Punjab * Kang District, Afghanistan * Kang, Botswana, a village * Kang County, Gansu, China * Kang, Isfahan, Iran, a village * Kang, Kerman, Iran, a village * Kang, Razavi Khorasan, Iran, a village * Kham ( ...

(康). The addition was due to the existence of two Sogdian kingdoms, identified as An and

Kangju Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' < *''khâŋ-ka'' (c. 140 BCE)) was the Chinese name of a kingdom in

Central Asia< ...

; the state of An was accordingly named due to its occupation by the Arsacids.Xue, Zongzheng (1992). ''A History of the Turks''. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press. . p. 329, 602-606 It is considered one of the "

Nine Sogdian Surnames Sogdia (Sogdian language, Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also ...

Xueyantuo

During the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

period in the 6th century,

Anchi The Antsi (Anchi) language or Mag-antsi (also Mag-Anchi Ayta) is a Sambalic language with around 4,200 speakers. It is spoken within Philippine Aeta communities in the Zambal municipalities of Botolan, San Marcelino, and Castillejos; in the Tar ...

Anzhi Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб «Анжи́» Махачкала́, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founde ...

(安迟) was the Xianbei surname of

Uyghur people The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia, Central and East As ...

(回鶻人) a division of the

Hui people The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...

; they later reduced the surname to An (安). During the

in the 8th century, the An (安) family name was used among the

Xueyantuo The Xueyantuo were an ancient Tiele people, Tiele tribe and khaganate in Northeast Asia who were at one point vassals of the Göktürks, later aligning with the Tang dynasty against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Eastern Göktürks. Names Xue ...

(薛延陀) people.

Khitan

During the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, Ardan (阿爾丹) the Daur people (達斡爾族) were given the surname An (安) with the Ar dialect.

Notable people

Historical figures

* An Shigao (安世高), the first Buddhist missionary to China and a former

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

* An Xuan, who followed An Shigao to

several decades later * An Faqin (安法欽), Parthian Buddhist in Xijin (西晉) the Chinese state * An Lushan (安祿山), Sogdian-born provincial military governor during the

* An Chongzhang (安重璋), Sogdian general and Duke of Liang during the Tang Dynasty who had his name changed to Li Baoyu amid the

An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general office ...

(to distance himself and his family from the notoriety of the rebel An Lushan) *

An Yanyan An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...

(安延偃), adoptive father of An Lushan,

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

origin, rumoured to have been surnamed Kang originallyAn Lushan's biography in the ''New Book of Tang'', in addition to indicating that his original name was Galuoshan, also indicated that his original surname was Kang, implying that his father was surnamed Kang. However, his biography in the ''Book of Tang'' indicated that An Lushan "originally did not have a surname." Compare ''Book of Tang'', vol. 200, part 1, with ''New Book of Tang'', vol. 225, part 1. * An Qingxu, son of An Lushan * An Chonghui (安重誨), a minister of Later Tang *

An Congjin An Congjin (; died 942) was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Later Tang and Later Jin. In 941, he rebelled against the rule of Later Jin's founding emperor Shi Jingtang, but was defeated, and he then committed ...

(安從進), a general of Later Tang and Later Jin (Five Dynasties) * An Chongrong (安重榮), a general of the Later Jin (Five Dynasties)

Modern

An Qi An Qi () (born 21 June 1981) is a Chinese former international association football goalkeeper. He represented Guangzhou Matsunichi, Dalian Shide, Dalian Changbo, Xiamen Blue Lions and Changchun Yatai while internationally he participated for ...

(安琦; born 1981), Chinese football goalkeeper * An Yuexi (安悦溪; born 1989), Chinese actress *

Shone An Shone An (; 20 September 1983 – 1 June 2015) was a Taiwanese singer, actor and television host. Early life On 20 September 1983, An was born in East District, Tainan, East District, Tainan. He was the only child in his family. His birth n ...

, Taiwanese singer, actor and television host

Stage name

Amber An Amber An (), born Liao Ching-ling (), is a Taiwanese actress, singer, television host, and model. Career Amber An entered the showbiz in February 2009 through television program ''Celebrity Imitated Show: The Largest Political Party'', in whi ...

(安心亞; born Liao Ching-ling (Chinese: 廖婧伶; pinyin: Liào Jìnglíng), Taiwanese actress, singer, television host, and model * Ady An Yi-xuan (安以軒; born 吳玟靜 on 1980), Taiwanese actress and singer

References

{{surname, An Chinese-language surnames China–Iran relations

Origins of An (安)

Iranian

Parthian

Sogdian

Xueyantuo

Khitan

Notable people

Historical figures

Modern

Stage name

See also

References