晓 Surname

Surname Overview

The surname 晓 is pronounced xiǎo, written 曉 in traditional Chinese, and is a relatively rare Han Chinese surname in current use.

Reference: 晓姓_晓姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Historical Records

Documentary Attestations

The surname is included in the Treatise on Clans in the Continued Comprehensive Records, which says it first appeared in Xing Yuan; another account says its earliest record is in the Ming-dynasty Wan Xing Tong Pu.

Reference: 晓(xiǎo)姓-族谱网

Migration and Distribution

Hongdong Migration

The ancestors of Xiao families associated with the early-Ming Hongdong Great Locust Tree migration were registered in Pingyang Prefecture, Hongdong County, and Zhaocheng County. By the late Qing period, their descendants were distributed across Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Shaanxi, Anhui, and Shanxi.

Reference: 晓(xiǎo)姓-族谱网

Geographic Distribution

People bearing the surname are found in Pucheng in Fujian; Yiyang and Liling in Hunan; Taiyuan, Datong, Yangquan, Changzhi, and Yuncheng in Shanxi; Shangyu and Jiangshan in Zhejiang; Guangfeng and Ningdu in Jiangxi; and Beijing.

Reference: 晓姓_晓姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Notable People

Historical Figures

Recorded figures include Xiaogutai, a Mongol official of the Yuan dynasty, and Xiaozhi of Liling, who served as deputy magistrate of Dianjiang County in Sichuan during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty.

Reference: 晓姓_晓姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Research Notes

Uncertain Origin

The precise origin of the surname is unknown. The idea that it arose when the first character of a personal name replaced an earlier surname is only conjectural.

Reference: 晓姓_晓姓的来源和历史_百家姓