Min Surname

Origins

Ji-Surname Origin

The Min surname derives from the Ji surname. A collateral branch of Ji Qi, Duke Min of Lu, adopted his posthumous name as its surname; this Ji-derived Min lineage has a history of about 2,600 years.

Reference: 闵姓起源分布与家谱家族

Historical Records

百家姓 Record

The Min surname appears in the Song edition of the Hundred Family Surnames, ranked 132nd.

Reference: 闵姓怎么读？mǐn还是míng？一文说清正确读音、起源和名人故事 - 百度文库

Migration and Distribution

Genealogical Migrations

Genealogies record migrations by several Min branches: Min Futai moved from Jinxian to Xiangyin during the Yongle era; Min Zhang moved from Fengcheng to Ningxiang during the Zhengde era; and Min Shangjue moved from Shaoyang County, Hunan, to Xindu in Chengdu during the Yongzheng era.

Reference: 闵氏家谱网 提供9个省区市的20部闵氏家谱、闵氏族谱

Geographic Distribution

During the Ming period, the Min surname was mainly distributed in Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Hebei, which together accounted for about 83% of the Min population; Zhejiang accounted for about 47%. In contemporary sample data, ancestral regions are concentrated mainly in Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Sichuan.

Reference: 闵姓起源分布与家谱家族

Notable People

Min Ziqian

Min Ziqian, given name Sun, was a student of Confucius and became renowned for filial piety; later generations included him among the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.

Reference: 闵氏源流-闵氏始祖-闵姓来源-炎黄闵氏网