Surname Overview
Overview of the Geng Surname
The Geng surname may be associated with place names or a state name, and some branches arose through sinicized surname changes among ethnic minorities.
Geng Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 1,287,565Geng / Keng
Origins
Shang and Zhou Origins
The Shiben records that Zu Yi moved to Geng; during the Western Zhou, the state of Geng was located in present-day Hejin, Shanxi.
Historical Records
Early Records and Branches
The Hou Hanshu biography of Geng Yan records that an ancestor of the Geng lineage moved from Julu during Emperor Wu's reign as an official receiving a salary of two thousand dan; Geng Kuang's branch was known as the Fufeng Geng lineage, and Geng Chun's as the Julu Geng lineage.
Migration and Distribution
Migration and Present Distribution
Early Geng families mainly lived around Wen County in Henan, Hejin in Shanxi, and Fufeng; during the Qin and Han periods some moved to Shandong, and during the Tang and Song periods they gradually entered the Jianghuai and Jiangnan regions.
Notable People
Historical Figures
Geng figures were especially numerous during the Han period. Those recorded in official histories include Da Nong Cheng Geng Shouchang, Marquis of Yu-mi Geng Kuang, Marquis of Dongguang Geng Chun, and Geng Yan, one of the Twenty-Eight Generals of the Yuntai.
Genealogy and Generation Names
Genealogical Generation Names
Some Geng branches preserve local generation-name sequences; one branch in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, is recorded as “Yufeng Daode Qingyi Ming Jiafa Shan Lingxing.”
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Surname attestation references
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