三 Surname

Surname Overview

The surname San is written as 三, 弎, or 叁 and pronounced sān. It is a relatively rare surname in current use, found among the Han, Tibetan, Dai, Lisu, and other ethnic groups.

Reference: 三姓 _ 百科

Origins

Zi-Surname Origin

One lineage derives from the Zi surname and traces its origin to Zi Yushuo, the ruler of Song in the Spring and Autumn period, using an ancestor's name as the surname. Among the descendants of his third son, Zi Sanzhong, some adopted the ancestor's ordinal name and became known as the San and Zhong lineages.

Reference: 三姓 _ 百科

Place-Name Origin

Another lineage derives from a place name, originating from the Manchu ancestral settlement called Sansheng, also known as Sanxing. It was an old residence of the Jurchen people, identified here with present-day Yilan City under Harbin, Heilongjiang Province.

Reference: 三姓 _ 百科

Historical Records

Distribution and Recorded Figures

The surname is currently distributed in Beijing, Yuncheng in Shanxi, Wuhan in Hubei, Wuchuan in Guangdong, Chengdu in Sichuan, and other places. Recorded figures include San Kai in the Song dynasty, San Chengzhi in the Ming dynasty, and San Yongdao, who served as magistrate of Qimen County.

Reference: 三姓 _ 百科

Migration and Distribution

Place-Name Change and Surname Simplification

In the early Qing period, the place was renamed Yilan Hala because people of the three Hezhe clans Kiyikele, Nuyale, and Hushihali lived there; in Manchu, yilan means “three” and hala means “surname.” Some Jurchen, Hezhe, and Mongol people in the area took the place name as their surname, using Sanshengshi, Sanxingshi, or Sanbushi, which was later often shortened in writing to 叁 and then simplified to 三.

Reference: 三姓 _ 百科