Surname Overview
Form and Current Status
Chang (traditional form: 暢) is a currently uncommon surname, pronounced chàng.
Chang Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 46,311Chang / Chang
Origins
The recorded traditions include Ji and Jiang origins: one traces the surname to the Western Zhou office of Changyue, later simplified to the single-character surname Chang; the other traces it to a Qi state noble clan in the Spring and Autumn period, using a fief name as the surname.
Migration and Distribution
During the Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties, some members moved south to present-day Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang to escape turmoil. During the Sui and Tang periods, one branch moved to Hedong in southern Shanxi. After the Southern Song period, branches spread to Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Sichuan; in the early Ming, Shanxi branches were relocated to Beijing, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Henan.
Genealogy and Generation Names
Genealogical Generation Names
Recorded local generation-name sequences include “Li Ju Shao Xian Fa” in Qixian, Shanxi; “Yu Tong Jun Zi Pin Shan Zai Qi Shi Tong Zhong Zheng Shao Zu Xian Guang Ming Yao Zong Gong” in Xinxiang, Henan; “Chang Shou Jia Yu Fang” in Fuzhou, Fujian; and “An De Yu Yong Shun” in Shangqiu, Henan.
Continue your family research
Start with ancestral counties, villages, personal names and dates. Record genealogy titles, volumes, editions and catalog identifiers. A shared surname does not prove a shared lineage; compare branch records.
Surname attestation references
These catalogs or datasets attest written names, not every origin or lineage claim on this page.
This page includes automatically organized material. Check the references and original family documents.
Add or correct information
Submit the information and a reference link for possible inclusion on this page.