Yan is a surname in several languages and the

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

romanization for several

Chinese surnames 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 W ...

, including " ()", " ()", " ()", " ()", " ()", " ()", " ()", " ()", " ()" in simplified (traditional) form. These characters are romanised as ''Yen'' in the

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...

romanization system which was commonly used before the early 80s. As such, individuals and institutions who had to romanize their Chinese names prior to that time, such as when having their books translated or publishing manuscripts outside of China, used "Yen" instead of "Yan". Such examples include Yenching University and the Harvard-Yenching Institute. The Yan surname in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

is mostly spelled as Yen since only until recently has the government approved the use of pinyin romanization of names. The Cantonese romanization of these surnames is "Yim". As such, most people from

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 Delta i ...

and Chinese diaspora that emigrated prior to 1949 from

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

use the name Yim. On many occasions, the surname " ()" is also romanized as Yan 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 ar ...

. This name in Mandarin is romanized as ''Zhēn'', see Zhen (surname). Yan is also an alternative spelling of the Breton name Yann.

Latin alphabet

* Amanda Yan, (born 1988), Canadian athlete, in wheelchair basketball and other sports * Esteban Yan, (born 1975), Dominican baseball pitcher * Héctor Yan, (born 1999), Dominican Republic professional baseball player * Martin Yan, (born 1948), Chinese-Canadian/American television chef *

Petr Yan Petr Evgenyevich Yan (russian: Пётр Евге́ньевич Я́н, translit=Pyotr Yevgenyevich Yan; born 11 February 1993) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fi ...

, (born 1993), Russian former UFC Bantamweight Champion *

Rico Yan Rico Yan (; born Ricardo Carlos Castro Yan; March 14, 1975 – March 29, 2002) was a Filipino matinee idol, model, film and television actor, host, spokesperson and entrepreneur. Yan graduated from De La Salle University in 1997 with a degr ...

, (1975–2002), Filipino actor *

Vasily Yan Vasily Yan (Russian: Васи́лий Ян; 23 December 1874 (4 January 1875), Kyiv, Russian Empire – August 5, 1954, Zvenigorod, Moscow Oblast) was a Russian writer, author of famous historic novels. Also spelled "Vassily Yan" (or "Ian") or ju ...

, (1875–1954), Russian writer *

Yen Hoang Yen Hoang ( vi, Yến Hoàng; born March 8, 1997) is an American wheelchair racer, who won two medals at the 2019 Parapan American Games. She came second at the 2021 Chicago Marathon and third at the 2021 Boston Marathon, and competed at the de ...

, (born 1997), American wheelchair racer

嚴

閻

閆

Yan (),

''Yán'', originated as a variant of the surname 閻.

顏

Yan You was the first king of the Xiao Zhu and was originally known as Cao You. His ancestor was called Yan An who inherited a piece of land, which later flourished into the Zhu kingdom, a feudal state of Lu. According to the judicial rules of that time, Cao You had to give up his surname in order to ascend the throne. He adopted his father Yi Fu's style name Bo Yan. From then on Cao You was known as Yan You. This officially made Yan You the first

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

in Chinese history. Yan An was the son of Luzhong ( 陸終), grandson of

Zhurong Zhurong (), also known as Chongli (), is an important personage in Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. According to the '' Huainanzi'' and the philosophical texts of Mozi and his followers, Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south. Th ...

clan and Wuhui ( 吳回).

was said to be the son of Gaoyang (also known as

Zhuanxu Zhuanxu ( Chinese: trad. , simp. , pinyin ''Zhuānxū''), also known as Gaoyang ( t , s , p ''Gāoyáng''), was a mythological emperor of ancient China. In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, ...

), a sky god.

was a grandson of the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

. Cao are believed to be descended of the ancient Zhou kings ( Ji was the ancestral name of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

). The surname is derived of a kingdom called the State of Cao. The Ji family is traced from the miraculous birth of the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradit ...

culture hero and court official

Houji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name translat ...

, a previously barren wife of the

Emperor Ku Kù (, variant graph ), usually referred to as Dì Kù (), also known as Gaoxin or Gāoxīn Shì () or Qūn (), was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He went by the name Gaoxin until receiving imperial authority, when he took the name Ku and th ...

(this origin allowed his descendants to claim a lineage from the

as well) caused by his

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

's stepping into a footprint left by the supreme god

Shangdi Shangdi (), also written simply, "Emperor" (), is the Chinese term for "Supreme Deity" or "Highest Deity" in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later '' Tian'' ("Heave ...

Shaohao Shaohao or Shao Hao ( "Lesser Brightness"), also known Jin Tian (金天), was a legendary Chinese sovereign. Shaohao is usually identified as a son of the Yellow Emperor. According to some traditions (for example the '' Book of Documents''), he i ...

is usually identified as a son of the

. According to some traditions, he is a member of the Five Emperors.

晏

晏 is a typical Han surname.

延

延 is a Chinese surname. It has various origins: *during the

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 ...

Xirong Xirong () or Rong were various people who lived primarily in and around the western extremities of ancient China (in modern Gansu and Qinghai). They were known as early as the Shang dynasty (1765–1122 BCE), as one of the Four Barbarians that fr ...

(西戎) the Loufan (樓煩) get surname Yan (延), branch of

Pan (surname) Pān is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the East Asian surname . It is listed 43rd in the Song dynasty classic text '' Hundred Family Surnames''. It is romanized as P'an in Wade–Giles; Poon, Phoon, Pon, or Pun in Cantonese; Phua in Hokki ...

(潘) *during the Northern Wei (北魏), Emperor Xiaowen (孝文帝) family get surname Yan (延) *during the Northern Wei (北魏), Xianbei noble's three-syllable surname was reduced to Yan (延) *during the Ancient,

Yue people The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, bo ...

(越族)

Baiyue The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, b ...

(百越) get surname Yan (延) in

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

the old

Wu (state) Wu (; Old Chinese: ''*'') was one of the states during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. It was also known as Gouwu ( /''*''/) or Gongwu ( /''*''/) from the pronunciation of the local language. Wu was located at the ...

燕

燕 is a Chinese surname. It has various origins: *during the

Ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

China, Ji (姞) family get surname Yan (燕) with title of Nanyan (state) (南燕國) *during the

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

, Ji (姬) family get surname Yan (燕) with title of

Yan (state) Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu ...

(燕國) *during the

Three Kingdoms Period The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the We ...

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

people use surname Yan (燕) *Chinese Murong family get surname Yan (燕) with title of Former Yan (前燕)

Burmese (ရန်ရ)

* Yan Aung Kyaw (born 1989), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team *

Yan Aung Win Yan Aung Win (born 9 September 1992) is a footballer from Myanmar. He made his first appearance for the Myanmar national football team in 2010. He is the two-time Myanmar National League winner with Yangon United and bronze medalist with Mya ...

(born 1992), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team *

Yan Paing Yan Paing ( my, ရန်ပိုင်) born 27 November 1983 in Yangon) is a Burmese footballer who plays for the Myanmar national football team. He also plays with Yadanarbon in Myanmar National League. Yan Paing is a key striker for the M ...

(born 1983), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team *

Yan Yan Chan Yan Yan Chan ( my, ရန်ရန်ချမ်း, ; born 5 December 1979) is a Burmese hip hop singer, pioneer of Burmese hip hop, and pro-democracy activist. He is a founding member of Acid, Burma's first hip hop group. He is also one of th ...

, Burmese singer

Breton and French-speaking people

* Yan' Dargent (1824-1899), painter * Yan Greub (1972), romanist *

Yan England Yan England-Girard (born 9 december 1981) is a Canadian actor, television and radio presenter, screenwriter, film producer and director of short films. From the age of eight, he was known for his role of Einstein in the youth program Watatatow ...

(1981), actor * Yan Moran (1954), photographer * Yan Kouton (1971), writer * Yan Valery (1999), football player

References

{{surname, Yan Chinese-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames