Surname Overview
Name Origin
“Ge” originally referred to an ancient weapon used for hooking and killing; craftsmen who made such weapons may have adopted Ge as their surname.
Ge Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 135,139Ge / Ko
Origins
Ancient State Origin
One tradition traces Ge to a state name: Ge was a vassal state established by the Dongyi during the Xia period, whose ruling clan descendants adopted the state name as their surname; royal clans enfeoffed in Ge also formed a branch named after the place.
Historical Records
Early Records
The Zuo Zhuan records a state of Ge between Song and Zheng, and the oracle-bone inscriptions from the Yin ruins contain “Ge Fang.”
Commanderies and Clan Halls
Hall Name and Migration
The Wujin Ge genealogy uses the hall name Wenxin Hall. Its founding migrant, Ge Xianlu, moved from Wuxi to Luoyangqiao in Wujin in the late Yuan or early Ming, and the lineage moved to Shanghudun three generations later.
Migration and Distribution
Present-Day Distribution
Among contemporary Ge users, ancestral registrations are concentrated mainly in Jiangsu, Hebei, and Zhejiang, accounting for 30.6%, 16.3%, and 8.2%, respectively.
Notable People
Historical Figures and Families
During the Ming and Qing periods, the Ge clan of Wu County in Suzhou Prefecture was a prominent local family, including Ge Chengke, Ge Jiuchou, Ge Wen, and Ge Zai. In Qing-era Xian County, four generations of the Ge clan produced five jinshi: Ge Ying, Ge Maolun, Ge Jin, Ge Yuan, and Ge Tao.
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Surname attestation references
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