Xiong is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

of the

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

熊 (''Xióng''). It is 41st in the

Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dyn ...

, contained in the verse 熊紀舒屈 (Xiong, Ji, Shu, Qu).

Romanizations

熊 is also romanized as Hsiung² in Wade-Giles. It is Hung or Hong in

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

; Him in

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...

, Hong or Yoong in

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

; Hiōng in

Gan The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places *Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated ''Gā ...

; Hùng in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

; and Xyooj in

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...

. Note that "Hong" and "Hung" may also refer to the unrelated surname 洪.

Distribution

熊 is the 71st most common surname in

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

. Although Chinese make up the largest part of America's

Asian and Pacific Islander Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or Asian American and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is a term sometimes used in the United States when including both Asian ...

population, none of the romanizations of 熊 appeared among the 1000 most common surnames during the AD

2000 US census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

.
Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000
. 27 Sept 2011. Accessed 29 Mar 2012.

Origins

Xiong's literal meaning is "

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

", Xiong (熊) is branch to

Mi (surname) Mi is the ancient ancestral surname , most notably the name of the imperial house of State of Chu during the Warring States period. It is also the pinyin romanisation of various modern Chinese surnames, including , , and others. Mǐ The ''Mǐ'' () ...

(芈) of

Chu (state) Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou he ...

. Xiong traces back to the legendary Chinese culture hero

Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi (伏羲 ~ 伏犧 ~ 伏戲) is a culture hero in Chinese legend and mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking as well ...

, who was also styled " Huangxiong" (, lit. "Yellow Bear"). One archaic form of the surname combined this into a single character .Requires archaic Chinese font support.　Note the lack of the fire

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

on the right.

Yuxiong Yuxiong (, reigned 11th century BC), also known as Yuzi or Master Yu (), was an early ruler of the ancient Chinese state that was later known as Chu. He was an ally and teacher of King Wen of Zhou (reigned 1099–1050 BC), the first king of the ...

(鬻熊), the progenitor of Chu, was the tutor of

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of state of Zhou, Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different hi ...

and died during his reign. After Zhou overthrew the

Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

, Yuxiong's descendants took Xiong as their clan name and remained prominent at court. King Wen's grandson

King Cheng of Zhou King Cheng of Zhou (), personal name Ji Song (姬誦), was the second king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1042–1021 BCE or 1042/35–1006 BCE. His parents were King Wu of Zhou and Queen Yi Jiang (邑姜). King Cheng w ...

(reigned 10421021 BC) awarded Yuxiong's great-grandson

Xiong Yi Xiong Yi (, reigned 11th century BC) was the first viscount and an early ruler of the State of Chu during early Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. Son of Xiong Kuang, he was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor and Zhuanxu through his great-grandfathe ...

the hereditary title of '' zǐ'' (, roughly "

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

") and the

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

of Chu. As it grew in power and importance, the Xiong dynasty formed its ruling house and the ruling houses of some of its successor states. To this day, the surname remains prominent in the provinces comprising the former territory of Chu.

List of persons with the surname

Xiong

Xiong Ni Xiong Ni (; born January 11, 1974, in Changsha, Hunan) is a Chinese diver who won his first Olympic medal at the age of 14 at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. He also competed at the Olympics in 1992, 1996 and 2000. Biography He att ...

, Chinese diver and triple

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

ist *

Xiong Qinglai Xiong Qinglai, or Hiong King-Lai (, October 20, 1893 – February 3, 1969), courtesy name Dizhi (), was a Chinese mathematician from Yunnan. He was the first person to introduce modern mathematics into China, and served as an influential preside ...

, Chinese mathematician * Xiong Xianghui, Chinese diplomat *

Xiong Shili Xiong Shili (, 1885 – May 23, 1968) was a Chinese essayist and philosopher whose major work ''A New Treatise on Vijñaptimātra'' (新唯識論, ''Xin Weishi Lun'') is a Confucian critique of the Buddhist ''Vijñapti-mātra'' "consciousness ...

, Chinese philosopher *

Xiong Xiling Xiong Xiling, or Hsiung Hsi-ling (); 1870–1937) was a Chinese philanthropist and politician, who served as premier of the Republic of China from July 1913 to February 1914. Biography Born in Fenghuang, Xiangxi prefecture of Hunan, China, Xio ...

* Xiong Yaohua, real name of the Hong Kong-born Taiwanese ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

'' novelist

Gu Long Xiong Yaohua (7 June 1938 – 21 September 1985), better known by his pen name Gu Long, was a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director. A graduate of Cheng Kung Senior High School and Tamkang University, Xion ...

* Xiong Zhaoren, Chinese general *

Jeffery Xiong Jeffery Xiong (born October 30, 2000) is an American chess prodigy. He earned the Grandmaster title in September 2015 at the age of fourteen, the fourth youngest player to qualify in the US. Chess career Xiong was aged seven when he played in ...

, United States

chess grandmaster Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally it h ...

* Dylan Xiong Ziqi, Chinese artist

Hsiung

* Chao Agnes Hsiung, Taiwanese biostatistician *

Hsiung Shih-I Hsiung Shih-I (; also S. I. Hsiung or Xiong Shiyi; 1902–1991) was a writer, biographer, translator, academic, and playwright in Beijing and London. He was the first Chinese person to direct a West End play, and the founder of Tsing Hua Academy ...

, Chinese writer *

Tiffany Hsiung Tiffany Hsiung is a Canadian documentary filmmaker. She is most noted for her 2016 documentary film '' The Apology'', which won a Peabody Award in 2019, and her 2020 short documentary film ''Sing Me a Lullaby'', which won the Share Her Journey aw ...

, Canadian documentary filmmaker

Hung

Lynn Hung Xiong Dailin (熊黛林, born 10 October 1980), better known as Lynn Hung, is a Hong Kong-based fashion model and actress originally from mainland China. Born in Nanjing, China, Hung moved her base of modeling activities to Hong Kong in 2006 and ...

, Chinese model

Song

Brenda Song Brenda Song (born March 27, 1988) is an American actress. Born in California, Song began her career at the age of six, working as a child model. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the sitcom '' Thunder Alley'' (1995), and ...

, Hmong American actress

Yoong

Alex Yoong Alexander Charles Yoong Loong (; born 20 July 1976), is a Malaysian professional racing driver of Chinese and English parentage. Yoong began his career in saloon cars before moving into the Proton one-make series. He later raced in single-sea ...

, race car driver

References

{{Authority control Chinese-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames