Dan / Dan
Dan, pronounced dān, is a relatively rare Han Chinese surname. It is geographically widespread but small in population, with bearers recorded in Wuqing, Tianjin; Taiyuan and Datong, Shanxi; Hancheng, Shaanxi; Lushi, Henan; Wuchang, Hubei; and Maguan, Yunnan.
Two traditions are given for the surname: one traces it to descendants of Emperor Yao's son Dan Zhu; the other derives it from the name of the ancient state of Dan in Chu, in present-day Hubei.
From the mid-Qing period onward, some members of the Manchu Mardan clan adopted Dan as a Han surname. Members of the Manchu Tuktan clan likewise adopted surnames including Dan, Chu, Du, Tu, Du, and Shan.
The Wanli-era Yangchun County Gazetteer recorded forty Zhuang households at Chetian Village associated with Dan Gongman. Among the 317 Zhuang households listed in total, forty bore the Dan surname. In 1533, these households were killed during a Ming military campaign in western Yangchun.
The Dan surname is associated with the Runan commandery. Dan Ben was an official of the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period.
The Hui branch of the Dan surname is said to have appeared after the Tumu Crisis in the mid-Ming period, but its detailed origins remain uncertain and require further study.
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