Yang (羊) is a Chinese surname. It is romanized Joeng in Cantonese romanization. According to a 2013 study, it was the 391st most common name in China; it was shared by 136,000 people, or 0.01% of the population, being most popular in
Hainan
Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
. It is the 202nd name in the ''
Hundred Family Surnames'' poem.
[K. S. Tom. 989(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. ]University of Hawaii Press
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
. .
Origins
The surname is from the Chinese 羊 meaning "
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
" or "
sheep." Origins for the surname include:
*from ''yangren'' (羊人) the name of an official post during the
Western Zhou period (1046–771 BC) who was in charge of
animal sacrifices.
*A shortened form of the compound surname Yangshe (羊舌) which was originally the name of a fief (located in modern
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
) granted to an official in the
state of Jin, a great-grandson of
Duke Wu of Jin (ruler of the state of Jin 716–677 BC). Some of the Yangshe clan adopted the much more common surname
Yang (楊/杨).
Notable people
*
Yang Hu (羊祜), Jin-era general
*
Yang Xianrong (羊獻容), Jin and Former Han empress
*
Yang Huiyu (羊徽瑜), Jin empress
References
{{reflist
Individual Chinese surnames