In 2008, the surname " ()",

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

Yán, or Yim in Cantonese was estimated to be the 92nd most common surname in the People's Republic of China, shared by around 2.2 million citizens. It is the 27th 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. This surname has various origins. In the

state of Chu Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

, the branch of Xiong (熊) of the Zhuang surname (莊) was renamed to Yan (嚴). The Zhuang (莊) family changed their names to Yan () upon the ascension of the Han Ming Emperor, whose personal name was Zhuang, owing to the

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly ...

. In the

state of Qin Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

, many families with the surname Ying (嬴) were renamed Yan (嚴). Citizens of the

State of Yan 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 Xia ...

(嚴國) in Ancient China were surnamed Yan (嚴). During the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded b ...

, the royal family of

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

were given the surname Yan (嚴). Some ethnic minority groups in China, including the

Xibe people The Sibe are a Tungusic-speaking East Asian ethnic group living mostly in Xinjiang, Jilin and Shenyang in Liaoning. The Sibe form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China, and had a recorded population of 190,481 in the 2010 C ...

Yi people The Yi or Nuosu people (Nuosu language, Nuosu: , ; see also #Names and subgroups, § Names and subgroups) are an ethnic group in South China, southern China. Numbering nine million people, they are the seventh largest of the 55 Ethnic minorit ...

and

Tu people The Monguor people ( Monguor: Mongghul), also known as Tu people (), White Mongol or Tsagaan Mongol, are a Mongolic people and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. According to the 2000 census, the total population was ...

, also use the surname Yan (嚴)

Origins

People with the surname Zhuang (莊) changed it to 嚴 (both meaning ‘solemnity’) during the reign of

Emperor Ming of Han Emperor Ming of Han (15June 28 – 5September 75 AD), born and also known as and as , was the second Emperor of the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty. He was the fourth son and second crown prince of Emperor Guangwu of Han, Empero ...

, who person name was Liu Zhuang (劉莊), due to a

as the surname 莊 happened to be the given name of the emperor. Later some descendants kept the surname, whereas others changed back to the original.Patrick Hanks, Peter McClure, and Richard Coates, The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland

Notable people

Yen Ming Yen Ming (; born 14 November 1949) was the Minister of Ministry of National Defense (Republic of China), National Defense of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 8 August 2013 to 30 January 2015. Education Yen graduated from the Republic of Chi ...

, Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China (2013–2015) * Yen Teh-fa, Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China * Yen Tzung-ta, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of China * 嚴顔 Yan Yan, a general of the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...

during the era of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

* 嚴家麟 Yen Chia-lin, founder of Scouting in China * 嚴家淦

Yen Chia-kan Yen Chia-kan (; 23 October 1905 – 24 December 1993), also known as C. K. Yen, was a chemist and the second president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 1975 to 1978. A Kuomintang politician, he succeeded Chiang Kai-shek as the second pr ...

(born 1905–1993), President of Taiwan 1975-1978 * 嚴復

Yan Fu Yan Fu (; courtesy name Ji Dao (); 8 January 1854 – 27 October 1921) was a Chinese military officer, newspaper editor, translator, and writer. He is most known for introducing Western ideas to China during the late 19th century. Life On Janua ...

(1854–1921), Chinese scholar * 嚴歌苓 Geling Yan (born 1958), Chinese-American writer * 嚴浩

Yim Ho Yim Ho (Chinese: 嚴浩) is a Hong Kong director most active in the 1980s, and a leader of the Hong Kong New Wave. He began his career making television programs for RTHK, then became a film director in 1980. One of his most critically acclai ...

(born 1952) Hong Kong film directors, leader of Hong Kong New Wave * Yan Huilian (born 1983), Chinese archer * 严家其 Yan Jiaqi (born 1942), Chinese political scientist and dissident * 嚴金萱 Yan Jinxuan (1924–2014), Chinese composer of ''The White Haired Girl'' * 严隽琪 Yan Junqi (born 1946), Vice chairwoman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress of China * 严培明 Yan Pei-Ming (born 1960), Chinese-born French painter * 严诗敏 Yan Shimin (born 1987), Chinese rower * 严顺开 Yan Shunkai (1937–2017), Chinese comedian, actor and director * 嚴倩君 Sophia Yan (born 1986), American classical pianist * 嚴詠春

Yim Wing-chun Yim Wing-chun () is a Chinese legendary character, often cited in Wing Chun legends as the first master of the martial art bearing her name. Wing-chun, though a person's name in Chinese language, translates literally to "spring chant", or may be ...

, a Chinese legendary character, often cited in Wing Chun legends as the first master of the martial art bearing her name * 严屹宽 Yan Yikuan (born 1979), Chinese actor and singer * 嚴爵 Yen-j (born 1988), Taiwanese singer and actor * 严红 Yan Hong (born 1967), Chinese swimmer * 严剑葵 Yan Jiankui (born 1976), Chinese sprinter * Yan Jing (born 1970), Chinese fencer * 严济慈

Yan Jici Yan Jici (; 23 January 1901 – 2 November 1996), also commonly known as Ny Tsi-ze, was a Chinese physicist and politician who is considered a founder of modern physics in China. He was a founding member of Academia Sinica in 1948 and of the Chi ...

(1901–1996), Chinese physicist and politician * 严浩翔 Yan Haoxiang (2004), singer, member of Teens in Times * 严燕松

Gerald Giam Gerald Giam Yean Song ( zh, s=严燕松, p=Yán Yànsōng; born 22 November 1977) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), Giam has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok Reservoir– Pun ...

(born 1977), Singaporean politician * 嚴世良 Ngiam Tee Liang, former Singaporean Member of Parliament * 严崇涛 Ngiam Tong Dow, Singaporean civil servant

References

{{100 Most Common Family Names in Mainland China Chinese-language surnames