Surname Overview
The surname Yuan is pronounced yuàn and is currently relatively rare.
Yuàn Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 105Yuàn / Yüan
Origins
One account traces the surname to the descendants of Yuan-dynasty figure Yuan Xiaosi, taking the ancestor's name as the surname; another says it was changed from Wan.
Historical Records
Documentary Attestations
The surname appears in the Xutongzhi, Clan Records section, and in the Xingyuan and Xingshi Kaolue; it is also recorded in the Ming dynasty Wanshi Tongpu.
Migration and Distribution
Distribution
The surname is distributed relatively widely, including Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and Horinger County in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Laoyuan Village and Xiaoyuan Village in Waizi Town, Xinye County, Henan, have more than one thousand residents surnamed Yuan.
Notable People
Historical Figures
In the Song dynasty, Yuan Hengqian served as magistrate of Dehua County. In the Ming dynasty, Yuan Bin passed the Hongzhi jinshi examination and later served as a canyi.
Research Notes
Limits of the Origin Accounts
The claim that Yuan Xiaosi was the founder of the surname is questioned on the grounds that the Xingyuan already records the surname; the origin date therefore cannot be established from this account alone.
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Surname attestation references
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