Mei () is a romanized spelling of a

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 ...

, transcribed in the

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

dialect. In

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and other

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 ...

-speaking regions, the name may be transliterated as Mui or Moy.Louie, Emma Woo: "Chinese American Names"., p.29. McFarland & Co, Inc., 1998. In

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, this surname is written as Mai. In romanized Korean, it is spelled Mae. The name literally translates in English to the

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

fruit. The progenitor of the Méi clan, Méi Bo, originated from near a mountain in ancient China that was lined at its base with plum trees.Li, Jin Sheng: "Yún hé Sān Bai Xìng.", p. 77. Print date unavailable. "Mei" is also an Italian surname, and one transcription of the Slavic surname also spelt Mey (Мей).

Origins

The Méi

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

came from the Zi (子) family. They were awarded a

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

in the southeast of Bo County in

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

called Mei kingdom. The Méi

ancestral hometown An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

is located 60 miles southeast of

Runan Runan County () is a counties of China, county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian, in the southeast of Henan, Henan Province, China. History In ancient times, this area was called "the middle of the world" (), ...

county,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province in central

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The first patriarch of the Méi lineage was Méi Bo or the

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

of Méi. During

King Zhou King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse cr ...

's reign (

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 ...

, 1766-1122 BCE), Méi Bo pleaded repeatedly to King Zhou to repent from his cruel and corrupt ways. Méi Bo's convictions angered the erratic ruler, which he viewed as insubordination. As punishment, the Earl of Méi was beheaded. Inspired by Méi Bo's acts, his descendants subsequently adopted the surname of Méi to pay homage to this ancient noble.

People with the surname Mei (梅)

Anita Mui Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...

, Hong Kong singer and actress * James Mui, American musician of Puerto Rican and Chinese descent. * Mei Ju-ao, jurist of the

Tokyo Trial The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conven ...

Mei Lanfang Mei Lan (22 October 1894 – 8 August 1961), better known by his stage name Mei Lanfang, was a notable Peking opera artist in modern Chinese theater. Mei was known as "Queen of Peking Opera". Mei was exclusively known for his female lead ...

(1894-1961), Beijing opera actor *

Lexton Moy Lexton de la Cruz Moy (, born 24 January 1985) is an American-Filipino sportsperson and former Philippines international footballer. He played as a midfielder and last played for Lam Ieng that competed in the Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futeb ...

, American soccer player of Chinese and Filipino heritage *

Mei Lin (actress) Mei Lin (1915-1997), also romanised as Mei Ling, was a Chinese actress who worked in the Chinese movie industry in the 1930s. She worked for the Lianhua Film Company, where she began her film career. She also worked for the Xinhua Film Company ...

, Chinese actress *

Milagros Moy Milagros Alicia Moy Alvarado (born October 17, 1975) is a volleyball player from Peru who twice represented her native country at the Summer Olympics: 1996 and 2000. She played as a wing spiker. Career Moy won with the Peruvian club Cristal B ...

, Peruvian volleyball player *

Mei Quong Tart Quong Tart, now often (if anachronistically) known as Mei Quong Tart, was a prominent nineteenth century Sydney merchant from China. He was one of Sydney's most famous and well-loved personalities and made a significant impact on the social a ...

, Australian Chinese businessman * Mai Thuc Loan, Vietnamese emperor *

Mei Yaochen Mei Yaochen () (1002–1060) was a Chinese poet of the Song dynasty. He was one of the pioneers of the "new subjective" style of poetry which characterized Song poetry.Cihai: Page 1306. Mei Yaochen was born in Xuancheng in present-day Anhui Prov ...

, Song Dynasty poet *

Moy Yat Moy Yat (梅逸) (June 28, 1938 – January 23, 2001) was a Hong Kong martial artist, painter, seal maker, teacher and author. He was a student of the legendary Wing Chun Kung-Fu teacher Yip Man (also romanized as Ip Man) from 1957 until Ip Man' ...

, Kung Fu master (Wing Chun) *

Jeannie Mai Jeannie Mai-Jenkins (born Jeannie Camtu Mai) is an American television host and stylist best known for her work on the makeover show '' How Do I Look?'' and the syndicated daytime talk show ''The Real''. As a fashion expert, she is frequently fe ...

, Chinese-Vietnamese American television presenter, make-up artist, and stylist.

People with the surname Mei (Italian)

* Andrea Mei (born 1989), Italian footballer * Anna Mei (born 1967), Italian racing cyclist and mountain biker *

Bernardino Mei The Italian painter and engraver Bernardino Mei (1612/15 – 1676) worked in a Baroque manner in his native Siena and in Rome, finding patronage above all in the Chigi family. Briefly a pupil of the Sienese cartographer and draughtsman Giuli ...

(1612/15–1676), Italian painter and engraver *

Giovanni Mei Giovanni Mei (born 15 October 1953) is an Italian former football player and who now works as the technical director of Italian club Fano. Playing career Mei played as a central defender, often used as a full-back, spending his youth career ...

(born 1953), Italian retired footballer *

Girolamo Mei Girolamo Mei (27 May 1519 – July 1594) was an Italian historian and humanist, famous in music history for providing the intellectual impetus to the Florentine Camerata, which attempted to revive ancient Greek music drama. He was born in Florenc ...

(1519–1594), Italian historian and humanist * Nicola Mei (1985), Italian professional basketball player * Paolo Mei (1831–1900), Italian painter * Stefano Mei (born 1963), Italian long-distance runner

People with the surname Mei/Mey (Мей)

Lev Mei Lev Aleksandrovich Mei (russian: Лев Алекса́ндрович Мей (name sometimes transliterated as Lev Mey); ) was a Russian dramatist and poet. Biography Mei was born on 13/25 February 1822, in Moscow. His father was a German officer wh ...

(1822-1862), Russian dramatist and poet * Lydia Mei (1896-1965), Estonian artist * Natalie Mei (1900-1975), Estonian painter and graphic artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mei (Surname) Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames