Wéi () is a Chinese surname. It means ‘leather’ in

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...

. It was the 62nd most common name in China as of 2018. It is Wai in Cantonese. It is the 50th name on 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 language , Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book ...

'' poem. The Wei (韋) family name is derived from the surnames

Peng Peng may refer to: * Peng (surname) (彭), a Chinese name * Peng (state) (大彭), a state during the late Shang dynasty * Peng (mythology) (鵬), a legendary Chinese creature * ''Peng!'', 1992 album by Stereolab * ''PENG!'', a 2005 comic * P.Eng. ...

(彭) and Xiong (熊) from the ancient 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 H ...

. During the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

Han Xin Han Xin (; ? – early 196 BCE) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ...

's son escaped to Wei Country (韋) because of the purge of

Empress Lü Zhi The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, and later took the surname Wei (韋) from the region's name. A 2013 study by the Fuxi Cultural Association found it to be the 66th most common name, shared by 4.3 million people or 0.320% of the population, with the province with the most being

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

Possible origins

* from Shi Wei (豕韋), the name of a state in modern

Henan province Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luo ...

, originally granted to Yuan Zhe by the Emperor

Shao Kang Shao Kang (, his surname was Sì 姒) was the sixth king of the Xia dynasty of ancient China. He was the son of Xiang. His father was killed in a battle against Han Zhuo's two sons, Han Jiao and Han Yi; Shao Kang's mother Ji managed to escape ...

in the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty (; ) is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, it was established by the legendary figure Yu the Great, after Emperor Shun, Shun, the last of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Fiv ...

The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland * from Wei (韋) as a title of an official in charge of the manufacture of

leather goods Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

* from the Wei (韋) family in the ancient state of Shu Le in present-day Xinjiang during the Western Han dynasty * allegedly borne by descendants of

, an official in the early

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

who was killed on the orders of

Empress Lü Lü Zhi (241 BC – 18 August 180 BC), courtesy name E'xu (娥姁) and commonly known as Empress Lü () and formally Empress Gao of Han (), was the empress consort of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They h ...

. His descendants fled to the area of present-day

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and

, and in order to avoid persecution they simplified their surname Han (韓) to Wei (韋) by removing the left radical, * descendants of

Huan Yanfan Huan Yanfan (桓彥範) (653–706), courtesy name Shize (士則), formally Prince Zhonglie of Fuyang (扶陽忠烈王), briefly known during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang as Wei Yanfan (韋彥範), was an official of the Chinese Tang dyna ...

(桓彥範), who was given the surname by the emperor

Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (26 November 656 – 3 July 710), personal name Li Xian, and at other times Li Zhe or Wu Xian, was the fourth and seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710. During ...

as a token of appreciation

Notables

* Empress Wei (韋皇后), wife of Emperor Zhongzong at

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

period * Wei Dongyi (韦东奕), Chinese mathematician * Wei Guoqing (韦国清), ethnic Zhuang PLA General and politician *

Wei Kang Wei Kang (died 213), courtesy name Yuanjiang, was a Chinese politician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early life and career Wei Kang was from Jingzhao Commandery (京兆郡), which is around present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi. His f ...

(韋康; died 213), courtesy name Yuanjiang, was an official who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. * William Wei Li-an (韋禮安), Taiwanese Mandopop and folk-rock singer-songwriter * Wei Lijie (韦利杰), Chinese

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

researcher * Wei Shihao (韦世豪), Chinese footballer * Wei Wei (韦唯), Chinese singer *

Wei Yi Wei Yi (; born 2 June 1999) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. Wei became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 8 months and 23 days, the 9th youngest in history. He is the youngest player ever to reach a rating of 2700, accomplishing this feat ...

(韦奕), chess player * Wei Yongli (韦永丽), Chinese sprinter

References

Individual Chinese surnames {{100 Most Common Family Names in Mainland China