Bei Surname

Surname Overview

Overview and Distribution

Bei (貝), pronounced bèi, is a widely distributed but uncommon surname. It occurs among Han, Xian, Mongol, Lisu, and other ethnic groups and ranks 110th in the Song-edition Hundred Family Surnames.

Reference: 贝姓_贝姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Origins

Ji-Clan and Ju-State Lineage

One lineage traces to the Ji clan of the Western Zhou: a son of King Wen of Zhou was enfeoffed at the Bei River in Julu and established the state of Ju. His descendants adopted Ju as their surname and later removed its settlement radical, producing Bei.

Reference: 贝姓_贝姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Toponymic Origins

Other branches took their surnames from places formerly called Beiqiu, Beishui, or Beiqiu. Such names occurred in present-day Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and the Korean Peninsula, so these toponymic branches do not form a single lineage.

Reference: 贝姓_贝姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Manchu-Derived Branches

Bei also includes branches formed through the adoption of Han surnames by Manchus, including descendants of the Honggecun and Huanggiya clans and some descendants of beile or beizi who used a homophonous character from the first sound of those titles.

Reference: 贝姓_贝姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Commanderies and Clan Halls

Ancestral Commandery and Hall Names

The Bei ancestral commandery is Qinghe. Hall names include Qinghe, Liuren, Xiushi, Fenggu, Dongwu, and Guangyu. Xiushi Hall commemorates Bei Qiong's summons to compile the History of Yuan in the early Ming, while Fenggu Hall recalls Bei Qinchen's promotion of agricultural production as magistrate of Jiangyin in the Song period.

Reference: 贝姓_贝姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Migration and Distribution

Qinghe and Beiqiu

One Bei branch moved from the Bei River area of Julu, Hebei, to southeast of present-day Boxing County, Shandong. As its population grew, the settlement became known as Beiqiu; the clan later became prominent in Qinghe Commandery, its ancestral commandery.

Reference: 贝姓_贝姓的来源和历史_百家姓