Lan Surname

Surname Overview

Overview of the Lan Surname

The Lan surname mainly has two origins: the Mi and Ying surnames.

Reference: 蓝姓起源分布与家谱家族

Origins

Two Lineages

The Mi lineage arose when Wei, a member of the Chu royal clan during the reign of King Zhao of Chu, became magistrate of Lan County, after which his descendants took the place name as their surname. The Ying lineage arose when Qin Zixiang was appointed Lord of Lan during the reign of King Hui of Liang, after which his descendants took the name of the fief as their surname.

Reference: 蓝姓起源分布与家谱家族

Migration and Distribution

Historical Migration and Distribution

Before the Qin dynasty, the Lan surname was first active in Shandong, then migrated westward through Hebei to Shanxi and entered Shaanxi and Henan separately. By the late Spring and Autumn period it was distributed in Hubei; by the Sui and Tang periods it was present throughout southern China, and it entered Taiwan in the early Qing period.

Reference: 蓝姓起源分布与家谱家族

Distribution in the Song and Ming Periods

In the Song period, the Lan surname was mainly distributed in Guangdong, Henan, and Hunan; in the Ming period, it was concentrated mainly in Fujian, Guangxi, and Jiangxi. During the Song, Yuan, and Ming periods, its population mainly moved from the Central Plains toward the southeast and south.

Reference: 蓝姓起源分布与家谱家族

Contemporary Geographic Distribution

Among contemporary Lan-surname users, ancestral regions are mainly Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Fujian, and Zhejiang. Guangdong accounts for 27.9%, Guangxi 11.3%, and Sichuan 9.9%.

Reference: 蓝姓起源分布与家谱家族

Genealogy and Generation Names

Lan Family Statistics

The Lan surname has 90 families in the family database, distributed across 11 provinces. Fujian Lan families account for 20, Taiwan Lan families for 20, and Jiangxi Lan families for 16.

Reference: 蓝姓起源分布与家谱家族