Nai / Nai
Nai, pronounced nài, is a relatively rare Han Chinese surname currently found in places including Jing County in Hebei, Taiyuan in Shanxi, Hancheng in Shaanxi, Laohekou in Hubei, Guanyang in Guangxi, and Chenghai in Guangdong.
Two explanations are given for the surname’s origin: a phonetic change from the surname Na followed by adoption of the written form Nai, and adoption of Nai from the first sound of the Mongol tribal name Naiman by some members during Sinicization.
The surname Nai is included in Xing氏 Kaolüe, which cites Xingyuan.
Because the Nai population was small, it did not develop a major independent commandery association; later tradition generally assigns it to Taiyuan Commandery.
Nai Heng passed the imperial examination during the Xuande era of the Ming dynasty and served as Vice Minister of Revenue.
A tradition in Naizhuang, Xihua, Henan, says that the ancestors adopted the surname Nai while fleeing persecution; the historical origin and authenticity of this account can no longer be established.
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