Wan Surname

Surname Overview

Overview

The surname Wan is written 萬 in traditional Chinese and pronounced wàn. Its main origins include the Ji, Ying, and Mi surnames, forming four major branches.

Reference: 万姓起源分布与家谱家族

Origins

Main Origins

One branch descends from Bi Wan, a descendant of the Ji-surname Bi lineage, whose descendants adopted the surname from Bi Wan's style name. Another descends from the descendants of Rui Bo Wan, ruler of the Ji-surname Rui state. Other branches derive from the Ying-surname city of Wan in the Ju state and from a Chu grandee who held Wan as a fief.

Reference: 万姓起源分布与家谱家族

Historical Records

Documentary Record

The Tongzhi: Shizulue records that the Wan surname descended from a Chu grandee; tradition holds that the descendants of the Chu grandee Wan Ziqi adopted his name as their surname.

Reference: 万姓起源与各地字辈大全-族谱网

Migration and Distribution

Before the Qin period, the Wan surname was mainly active in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan. From the Han dynasties through the Tang, it was concentrated in northern China and the Central Plains. After the Tang, it spread into Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, the two Guangxi/Guangdong regions, and Fujian, eventually concentrating along the Yangtze River basin.

Reference: 万姓起源分布与家谱家族

Later Distribution

During the Song dynasty, the Wan surname was mainly distributed in Jiangxi and Zhejiang. During the Ming dynasty, its main concentrations were Jiangxi, Hubei, and Zhejiang, with Jiangxi accounting for about 26.7% of the total Wan population. Over the more than six centuries of the Song, Yuan, and Ming periods, the population mainly migrated toward Jiangnan.

Reference: 万姓起源分布与家谱家族

Genealogy and Generation Names

Genealogical Generation Names

Different Wan branches have their own generation-name sequences. For example, the Jimo branch of Shandong uses “Ya, Chun, Hua, Yin, Mao, Long, Feng, Yong, Cheng, Xiang”; the Linli branch of Hunan uses “Guang, Nai, Qi, Yi, Fang, Shao, Xian, Wei, Nian, Zu”; and the Nanchang branch of Jiangxi uses “Zheng, Yi, Mao, Xian, Guang, Shi, Yue, Qi, Chang, Xiang.”

Reference: 万姓起源与各地字辈大全-族谱网