Xian / Hsien
Xian (鮮) is a relatively rare surname today, mainly distributed in Jing County of Hebei, Yutai of Shandong, Taiyuan of Shanxi, Hancheng of Shaanxi, Jianli and Laohekou of Hubei, Guichi and Jing County of Anhui, Mabian of Sichuan, and Maguan of Yunnan.
The Xian surname is traced to the Zi surname and to an external ethnic origin: one branch came from the Zi surname, with a branch of Jizi's descendants adopting Xian; another branch changed from the compound surname Xianyu to Xian, from which the Xian surname in Shu is said to derive.
Surname records also list origins from the Si surname, the Ji surname, and the Hui people; one Ji-surname branch is attributed to the descendants of Zixian, a Spring and Autumn-period official of Wei.
The Xian surname appears in Zheng Qiao's Comprehensive Treatise on Clans; related origin accounts also cite Fengsu Tong, Xingshi Kaolue, Tongzhi: Clan Treatise, and Yuanhe Xingzuan.
Nan'an is recorded as a commandery of the Xian surname. Its ancestral hall names include Taiyuan Hall and Yuyang Hall, both established from commandery names.
During the Ming period, the Xian surname was mainly distributed in Sichuan. In contemporary samples, ancestral origins are mainly in Sichuan, Chongqing, and Shaanxi, accounting for 42.9%, 11.4%, and 8.6%, respectively.
Xian Sui lived during the Han dynasty and wrote one volume of Taiyi Health-Preservation Treatise. Xian Yuan lived during the Ming dynasty, was from Mahu Prefecture, and rose to Assistant Commissioner of the Shandong Salt Transport Administration.
Start with ancestral counties, villages, personal names and dates. Record genealogy titles, volumes, editions and catalog identifiers. A shared surname does not prove a shared lineage; compare branch records.
These catalogs or datasets attest written names, not every origin or lineage claim on this page.
This page includes automatically organized material. Check the references and original family documents.
Submit the information and a reference link for possible inclusion on this page.
