Ouyang () is 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 ...

. It is the most common two-character

Chinese compound surname A Chinese compound surname is a Chinese surname using more than one Chinese character, character. Many of these compound surnames derive from Zhou dynasty Chinese noble and official titles, professions, place names and other areas, to serve a purp ...

, being the only two-character name of the 400 most common Chinese surnames, according to a 2013 study, and is one of the few two-character surnames that have survived into modern times.

Etymology

歐陽 was spelled as : * Chinese languages : ''Ouyang'', ''Oyang'', ''O Yang'', ''O'Yang'', ''Owyang'', ''Au Yong'', ''Auyong'', ''Ah Yong'', ''Auyang'', ''Auyeung'', ''Au Yeung'', ''Au Yeang'', ''Au Yeong'', ''Au Ieong'', ''Ao Ieong'', ''Eoyang'', ''Oyong'', ''O'Young'', ''Auwjong'', ''Ojong'', ''Owyong'', ''Ou Young'', ''Ow Yeong'', ''Ow Young'' * Vietnamese languages : ''An-dương'' · ''Arang'' · ''Orang'' · ''Urang'' (安陽, in ancient Annam), ''Âu-dương'' (in Northern), ''Âu-giương'' (in Central), ''Âu-dzương'' (in Southern), ''Âu-rương'', ''Âu-lương'', ''Âu-lang'', ''Âu-giang'' * Korean languages : 구양 (九陽, 固阳, ''Guyang'') * Japanese languages : おうよう (鷹揚 / Ōyō), オウヤンホーム , オウヤン(株)
/ref> (株) * Others : ㄡㄧㄤˊ (in

Bopomofo Bopomofo (), or Mandarin Phonetic Symbols, also named Zhuyin (), is a Chinese transliteration system for Mandarin Chinese and other related languages and dialects. More commonly used in Taiwanese Mandarin, it may also be used to transcribe ...

)

History

The Song Dynasty historian

Ouyang Xiu Ouyang Xiu (; 1007 – 1072 CE), courtesy name Yongshu, also known by his art names Zuiweng () and Liu Yi Jushi (), was a Chinese historian, calligrapher, epigrapher, essayist, poet, and politician of the Song dynasty. He was a renowned writer a ...

traced the Ouyang surname to Ti (, pinyin: Tí), a prince of Yue, the second son of King Wujiang (). After his state was extinguished by the state of

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...

, Ti and his family lived in the south side of the Mount Ouyu (, currently called Mount Sheng in

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinc ...

, Zhejiang). In Classical Chinese, the south side of a mountain or the north bank of a river is called Yang (), thus the Ti family was called Ouyang. He was called Marquis of Ouyang Village (). Traditionally, Ti's ancestry can be traced through his father Wujiang, the King of Yue, to the semi-legendary Yu the Great (). According to a 2013 study, Ouyang was the 169th most common name in China, being shared by around 910000 people or 0.068% of the total population, with the province with the most people with the name being Hunan.

Geographical origins

In terms of distribution Ouyangs have mostly been confined to southern China, especially the areas of southern Jiangxi, central Hubei and eastern Henan, with smaller pockets in Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan and

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

Notable clans

The most prominent of the Ouyang clans historically was undoubtedly that of Yongfeng County, Yongfeng in Jiangxi, which produced a number of scholars who reached prominence in the imperial bureaucracy. Genealogical lineages and family trees have been established for a number of Ouyang clans around China, showing migration patterns from the Song to the Qing dynasty. In Vietnam, this clan was often shortcut as Âu (歐), Dương (阳) or Dương/Giàng (陽).

Notable people

*Ouyang Feiying, 1930s Shanghai singer *Ouyang Fei Fei, Ouyang Feifei, Taiwanese-Japanese singer *Ouyang Nana, Taiwanese actress *Ouyang Xiadan, CCTV News reporter *

, Song dynasty scholar *Ouyang Xun, Tang dynasty scholar *Ouyang Zhan, Tang dynasty scholar *:zh:欧阳逸冰, Ouyang Yibing, Chinese film scripter *Ouyang Ziyuan, Chinese cosmochemist and geochemist, chief scientist in charge of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program *Âu Dương Quân, Vietnamese footballer of Hoang Anh Gia Lai – Arsenal JMG Academy, JMG Academy *Au Yeung Yiu Chung, Hong Kong association football, footballer who won a 2009 East Asian Games gold medal *Bobby Au-yeung, Hong Kong actor *Susanna Au-yeung, Hong Kong actress and acupuncturist *Stephen Oyoung, Chinese-American actor *Jimmy O. Yang, born Au-yeung Man-Sing, Chinese-American stand-up comedian and actor *MC Jin, born Jin Au-Yeung, hip-hop artist *Myra Sidharta, born Auwjong Tjhoen Moy, Indonesian historian *Darryl O'Young, Chinese name Au-Yeung Ruoxi, Canadians, Canadian-born Hong Kong racing driver *Petrus Kanisius Ojong, born Auwjong Peng Koen, co-founder of Indonesian newspaper Kompas *Ouyang,Francis, Chief of Hospital Medicine VA Medical Center, United States.

Culture

By Vietnamese scholars, 歐陽 may be an origin of words ''văn-lang'' (minang / 文郎), ''mê-linh'' (maleng / 麊泠), ''âu-lạc'' (urang, orang, anak / 甌雒, 甌駱) and ''an-dương'' (arang / 安陽) what means "people" or "country" in ancient Tai languages, Tai and Malayo-Polynesian languages. * Malayo-Polynesian languages : Anak * Muong languages : ''Rú rác'' (in ancient), ''nú nác'' (in modern) * Vietic languages : ''Núi nước'' (in ancient), ''đất nước'' (in modern)

References

{{101-200 Most Common Family Names in Mainland China Yue (state) Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames