Min Surname

Surname Overview

A Rare Surname

Min, pronounced mǐn, is a relatively rare surname in current use. It is geographically widespread but has few bearers.

Reference: 敏姓_敏姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Origins

Qiang Origin

Minzhu was a branch of the Qiang people, and the surname Min may be an abbreviated form of that group’s name. The surname was numerous in Gansu and is recorded as having a Qiang origin.

Reference: 敏姓_敏姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Historical Records

Record of Min Dayong

A commander named Min Dayong is recorded among the officers who accompanied Mu Ying’s western expedition.

Reference: 敏姓_敏姓的来源_敏姓族谱_姓氏敏姓的名人_敏氏家谱_百家姓

Migration and Distribution

Migration to Taozhou in the Early Ming

According to an account by elderly Hui bearers of the surname in Lintan, Gannan, three ancestral brothers came to Taozhou with Mu Ying in the twelfth year of the Hongwu reign (1379) and settled respectively in the old city, Minjiazui Village, and Biandou Hagatan Village.

Reference: 敏姓_敏姓的来源_敏姓族谱_姓氏敏姓的名人_敏氏家谱_百家姓

Geographic Distribution in a Contemporary Sample

Among 23Mofang genetic-testing users surnamed Min, Guangdong and Sichuan each account for 20% of recorded places of origin, while Shandong, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Gansu, Qinghai, and Zhejiang each account for 10%.

Reference: 敏姓起源分布与家谱家族