Yan / Yen
The Yan surname has two main origins: Ji and Mi. The Ji branch has three sub-branches, while the Mi branch arose from a Chu grandee who held Yan as his fief.
After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, some non-Han groups historically adopted the Yan surname, including the Xianbei Yan lineage of Heyin in Henan and the collective adoption of Yan by the Manchu Biyamuci clan of the Eight Banners in the Qing dynasty.
The former site of Yan was southwest of present-day Luoyang, Henan. The Ji-origin Yan surname took its name from the place and has a history of at least 3,000 years.
Before the Qin, the Yan surname was active in Henan, Shanxi, and Hubei. During the Qin and Han, it spread to Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, Shandong, Hebei, and Inner Mongolia. In the Tang, it developed rapidly in Shanxi and became one of Taiyuan Commandery's ten renowned surnames.
In the Song dynasty, the Yan surname numbered about 200,000. It was concentrated mainly in Sichuan, Shandong, Henan, and Shaanxi, which together accounted for about 66% of the Yan population; two major clusters formed in western Chuan-Qin and eastern Yu-Lu.
In the Ming dynasty, the Yan population was about 120,000. Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, and Henan together contained about 95% of it; overall, its distribution shifted eastward and contracted into the Jin-Lu-Ji-Yu region.
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.
