Surname Overview
History and Ethnic Distribution
The Xian surname, also written 洗, has a history of about two thousand years. It is found among the Han as well as ethnic groups including the Zhuang, Yao, and Miao.
Xian Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 184,410Xian / Xian
Origins
Surname Origin
The Xian surname may have derived from the surname written 洗. The use of 洗 and 冼 for this surname emerged around the Eastern Wu period of the Three Kingdoms and was associated with chiefs of the Gaoliang people, a branch of the Li people.
Historical Records
Documentary Record
Xingshi Xunyuan records that the Xian surname was common in Panyu, Nanhai, and associates it with the surname of Gaoliang tribal chiefs.
Migration and Distribution
Geographic Distribution
During the Ming dynasty, the Xian population was small and concentrated mainly in Guangdong. Among 23Mofang test users surnamed Xian, 76.3% reported origins in Guangdong, 11.9% in Guangxi, and 3.4% in Jiangsu.
Notable People
Historical Figures
Xian Jin, an officer of Guangzhou's central defense forces during the Jin dynasty, was from Nanhai. During the Ming dynasty, a number of notable people surnamed Xian appeared around Nanhai in Foshan and Shunde.
Research Notes
Multiple Lineages
The Xian population does not descend from a single lineage; nearly twenty branches of differing origins have been identified. The relationship between the lineage downstream of O-Z25482 and notable Xian figures since the Ming dynasty remains unclear, while its formation, branching, and descendant distribution require further confirmation.
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Surname attestation references
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