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Wáng
RomanizationWáng ([wǎŋ]) (Mandarin)
Wong (surname) (Hong Kong, Macau, Cantonese, Hakka)
Wung (Shanghainese)
Ong, Bong, Whang, Ung, Whong, Ooi (Hokkien)
Heng (Teochew)
Uōng (Gan)
Wang (Korean)
Ō (Japanese)
Vang, Uang, Vaaj (Hmong)
Vương (Vietnamese)
Heng (Thai)
PronunciationWong (Cantonese)
Language(s)Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Thai, Cantonese, Mandarin
Origin
Language(s)Old Chinese
Meaning"King"[1]
Other names
Variant form(s)Wung, Bong, Vuong Wong
Popularitysee popular names
Wāng
PronunciationWāng ([wáŋ]) (Mandarin)
Wong (Cantonese)
Wung (Shanghainese)
Ong, Ang (Hokkien)
Waung (North American)
Wang (Korean)
Uông (Vietnamese) Whung
Language(s)Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese
Origin
Language(s)Chinese
Meaning"Vast"
Other names
Variant form(s)Ang, Vang, Waung, Wong, Wung, Vong, Vung

Wang (/wɑːŋ/) is the pinyin romanization of the common Chinese surnames 王 (Wáng) and 汪 (Wāng).[a] It is currently the most common surname in Mainland China, one of the most common surnames in Asia, with more than 107 million in Asia. It is the 8th name listed in the famous Hundred Family Surnames.[2][3]

Population and distribution

Wáng is one of the most common surnames in the world and was listed by the People's Republic of China's National Citizen ID Information System as the most common surname in mainland China in April 2007, with 92.88 million bearers and comprising 7.25% of the general population.[4][5]

A 2018 survey found that there were over 100 million Wang in China, ranking first.[3]

Wáng was also the most common surname in Mainland China in 2019.[6]

A 2013 study found the province with the most people sharing the name was Henan. Overall the name is more prevalent in Northern China.[7] In 2019 it was the most common surname in nearly every northern province or province-level division: Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, as well as the southern province of Hainan.[6]

It was the 6th most common surname in Taiwan in 2018, comprising 4.10% of the general population.[8]

Ong is the 5th-most-common surname among Chinese Singaporeans and Wang the 6th, although Wong also includes the surname 黃 (Huang in Mandarin).[9] Singaporean Wangs are 78,000 and 1.5% of Singapore's population and 2.5% of Singapore's Chinese population.

There are 143,000 recorded Wangs in the United States, as of 2014.[10] This is a double increase from 2000, when 63,800 Wangs ranked 10th most common amongst Asian Americans and 440th amongst all Americans, respectively.[11] There are 51,000 Wangs in California, 17,000 New York, 10,400 Texas, 5,900 New Jersey, 5,700 Illinois. Californian Wangs rank 55th in state, highest in rank as well by state of any state. Wang and Wong are sometimes interchangeable, as well as other Wang-based surnames so the number could vary.

Wang (Korean: 왕) is a fairly rare surname in South Korea. The year 2000 South Korean Census listed only 23,447 Wangs.[12]

Origins of Wang

Wang 王 is the Chinese word for "king". William Baxter and Laurent Sagart reconstructed the Old Chinese form of Wáng as *‍ɢʷaŋ and the Middle Chinese as hjwang.[1]

The modern bearers of the name Wang come from many different backgrounds, but there are four principal origins of the modern surname: Zi, Ji, Gui, and the adoption of the name from ethnic groups outside the Han Chinese.[13][better source needed]

House of Zi

The most ancient family name of Wang was originated from the surname Zi (子). The Chinese legend mentions that near the end of Shang Dynasty, King Zhou of Shang's uncle Bi Gan, Ji Zi, and Wei Zi were called "The Three Kindhearted Men of Shang". King Zhou was violent in his rule, and Bi Gan repeatedly remonstrated to the king regarding his behavior. The king shunned his comments and killed Bi Gan instead. Bi's descendants used Wang as their surname as they are descendants of a prince and were known as "The Bi clan of the Wang family".[14][better source needed] The Zi clan has existed for about 3100 years through Qin Dynasty to Tang Dynasty and exists today. The Zi clan of Wang lived predominantly in modern-day Henan[where?] during these times and developed into the famous Wang family of Ji prefecture.[15]

House of Ji

More Wang were originated from the royal family of Zhou Dynasty. The original surname of the royal family of Zhou Dynasty was Ji (姬). However, many of them have separated out of the family due to the loss of power and land. Because they once belonged to the royal family, they used Wang as their surname. This family of Wang traced its ancestry to Wang Ziqiao.[16]

According to the classical records, after King Wu of Zhou defeated the Shang Dynasty, he established the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the reign of the 21st king, King Ling of Zhou (571 - 545 BCE), the capital was in Chengzhou, which is the present day Luoyang, Henan. A son of King Ling, Wangzi Qiao or Prince Qiao, was reduced to civilian status due to his remonstration to the king. His son Zong Jin remained as a Situ in the palace, and because of the people at the time recognized him as the descendant of the royal family, they called his family the "Wang family".[17]

Another origin is that the surname is from Crown Prince Jin, son of King Ling of Zhou of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Jin criticized plans to divert the Gu and Luo rivers and was disinherited by his father. His descendants adopted the surname Wang in commemoration of his royal status.[18]

In other cases, the name can also be traced back to Tian He, who usurped the throne of the Qi in 391 BC. After the annihilation of Qi by Qin in 221 BC, some descendants of nobles of Qi adopted the surname Wang in commemoration of royal ancestry.

Wang was also used as a surname by descendants of royal families in certain other states, like Wei, during the Warring States period.

The surname has also been adopted by some families of minorities like the Ke Yi (可颐) families of the Xianbei during the Northern Wei dynasty.

In some families, this surname is traced back to ancestors who either were endowed with it by an emperor or changed their original surname, claiming royal status.[which?]

During the Tang dynasty the Li clan of Zhaojun 赵郡李氏, the Cui clan of Boling 博陵崔氏, the Cui clan of Qinghe 清河崔氏, the Lu clan of Fanyang 范陽盧氏, the Zheng clan of Xingyang 荥阳郑氏, the Wang clan of Taiyuan 太原王氏, and the Li clan of Longxi 隴西李氏 were the seven noble families between whom marriage was banned by law.[19] Moriya Mitsuo wrote a history of the Later Han-Tang period of the Taiyuan Wang. Among the strongest families was the Taiyuan Wang.[20] The prohibition on marriage between the clans issued in 659 by the Gaozong Emperor was flouted by the seven families since a woman of the Boling Cui married a member of the Taiyuan Wang, giving birth to the poet Wang Wei.[21] He was the son of Wang Chulian who in turn was the son of Wang Zhou.[22]

The marriages between the families were performed clandestinely after the prohibition was implemented on the seven families by Gaozong.[23] The Zhou dynasty King Ling's son Prince Jin is assumed by most to be the ancestor of the Taiyuan Wang.[24] The Longmen Wang were a cadet line of the Zhou dynasty descended Taiyuan Wang, and Wang Yan and his grandson Wang Tong hailed from his cadet line.[25] Both Buddhist monks and scholars hailed from the Wang family of Taiyuan such as the monk Tanqian.[26] The Wang family of Taiyuan included Wang Huan.[27] Their status as "Seven Great surnames" became known during Gaozong's rule.[28] The Taiyuan Wang family produced Wang Jun who served under Emperor Huai of Jin.[29] A Fuzhou-based section of the Taiyuan Wang produced the Buddhist monk Baizhang.[30]

The surname in other countries

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East Asia

Korea

Wang
Hangul
왕
Hanja
王
Revised RomanizationWang
McCune–ReischauerWang

The surname Wang has a Goguryeo origin and was the royal surname of Goryeo dynasty which was founded by Wang Geon. It is said that when Goryeo fell, many changed their surname to Jeon (全) / Jeon (田) / Ok (玉) to avoid severe persecution from the succeeding Joseon Dynasty. The Kaesong Wang lineage traces its ancestry to the Goryeo rulers.

Japan

Ō (Japanese: 王) is a rare Japanese name, mostly held by those of Chinese descent, such as the baseball player Sadaharu Oh (王貞治), also known as Wang Chen-chih, as well as Go player, Ō Rissei (王立誠). .

Southeast Asia

Indonesia

In Indonesia, the surname is often romanized as "Heng", "Bong" or "Ong" for people of Hokkien descent,[31] and more commonly as Ong by Chinese Peranakan. In some cases, the meaning of the names were translated into a name that sounds more like the area where these immigrant families settled in such as the surname Suraja, where in this case raja means king in Indonesian and Javanese and Su- is a common prefix within Javanese surnames.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the name is rendered Vương (王) meaning King.

Europe

Scandinavia

Wang is also an unrelated surname in Sweden and Norway. It is a variant spelling of the name Vang which is derived from the Old Norse word vangr, meaning field or meadow.

Germany and Netherlands

Wang is also a surname in the German and Dutch languages. The name is derived from Middle German wang/ Middle Dutch waenge, which is literally "cheek". However, in southern German, its meaning, "grassy slope" or "field of grass", is similar to the Scandinavian surname.

Notable people surnamed Wang

This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: 王 and 汪 are not distinguished here. Please help improve this article if you can. (May 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This list of "famous" or "notable" people has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help to define clear inclusion criteria and edit the list to contain only subjects that fit those criteria. (February 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Note: people generally romanized as "Wong" are listed in the "Wong" article. People generally romanized as "Ong" are listed in the "Ong" article. People with the family name "Vuong" are listed in the "Vuong" article.

Historical figures

Mainland China

Taiwan

Hong Kong

Malaysia

Singapore

Korea

In non-Asian countries

Australia

Canada

Norway

United States

Fictional people

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Though Wāng is sometimes used as a separate surname, with 汪 not romanized to Wang. See Wāng.

References

  1. ^ a b Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. "Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. (1.93 MB), p. 48. 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011.
  2. ^ "公安部统计：'王'成中国第一大姓 有9288万人 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine [Public Security Bureau Statistics: 'Wang' Found China's #1 'Big Family', Includes 92.88m People]." 24 Apr 2007. Accessed 27 Mar 2012.(in Chinese)
  3. ^ a b "公安部发布去年全国姓名报告，"王、李、张"姓排前三". Archived from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  4. ^ Xinhua Net. 公安部统计分析显示：王姓成为我国第一大姓. (in Chinese)
  5. ^ People's Daily. "Chinese surname shortage sparks rethink Archived 2012-02-20 at the Wayback Machine".
  6. ^ a b "新京报 - 好新闻，无止境". Archived from the original on 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  7. ^ "The Geographic Distribution of China's Last Names, in Maps". The Atlantic. 22 October 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  8. ^ Quan guo xing ming tong ji fen xi : zi liao shi jian 107 nian 6 yue 30 ri. China. Nei zheng bu. Hu zheng si, China. 內政部. 戶政司 (Chu ban ed.). Taibei Shi. 2018. ISBN 978-986-05-7074-8. OCLC 1103608341.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. ^ Statistics Singapore. "Popular Chinese Surnames in Singapore".
  10. ^ "Forebears Wang". Archived from the original on 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  11. ^ United States Census Bureau. "Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000". 27 Sept 2011. Accessed 29 Mar 2012.
  12. ^ "행정구역(구시군)/성씨·본관별 가구 및 인구". Archived from the original on 2006-05-11. Retrieved 2006-05-11.
  13. ^ Origin of the surname Wang, Wong, Ong, Heng Archived 2007-02-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ "greatchinese.com - Hundred Family's Surnames: Wang entry (under paragraph 3 says Wang is the descendants of Prince Bi Gan)". Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  15. ^ "Tracing of the Ancestry: under paragraph 1". Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  16. ^ Wang Ziqiao Archived 2007-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Chinese surname history: Wang Archived 2006-02-13 at the Wayback Machine, under paragraph 2
  18. ^ Oxford Dictionary
  19. ^ "p. 67" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  20. ^ A Zürcher (Milchfecker): Eine nicht alltägliche Stimme aus der Emmentaler-Käsereipraxis. Brill Archive. 1830. pp. 351–. GGKEY:WD42J45TCZZ. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  21. ^ Wei Wang; Tony Barnstone; Willis Barnstone; Haixin Xu (1991). Laughing Lost in the Mountains: Poems of Wang Wei. UPNE. pp. xxvii–xxviii. ISBN 978-0-87451-564-0. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  22. ^ Jingqing Yang (2007). The Chan Interpretations of Wang Wei's Poetry: A Critical Review. Chinese University Press. pp. 16–. ISBN 978-962-996-232-6. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  23. ^ A Study of Yuan Zhen's Life and Verse 809--810: Two Years that Shaped His Politics and Prosody. 2008. pp. 65–. ISBN 978-0-549-80334-8.
  24. ^ Ding Xiang Warner (2003). A Wild Deer Amid Soaring Phoenixes: The Opposition Poetics of Wang Ji. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 156–. ISBN 978-0-8248-2669-7. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  25. ^ Ding Xiang Warner (15 May 2014). Transmitting Authority: Wang Tong (ca. 584–617) and the Zhongshuo in Medieval China's Manuscript Culture. BRILL. pp. 98–. ISBN 978-90-04-27633-8. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  26. ^ Jinhua Chen (2002). Monks and monarchs, kinship and kingship: Tanqian in Sui Buddhism and politics. Scuola italiana di studi sull'Asia orientale. pp. 34, 36. ISBN 978-4-900793-21-7. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  27. ^ Oliver J. Moore (1 January 2004). Rituals Of Recruitment In Tang China: Reading An Annual Programme In The Collected Statements By Wang Dingbao (870-940). BRILL. pp. 35–. ISBN 90-04-13937-0. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  28. ^ William H. Nienhauser (2010). Tang Dynasty Tales: A Guided Reader. World Scientific. pp. 78–. ISBN 978-981-4287-28-9. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  29. ^ David R. Knechtges; Taiping Chang (10 September 2010). Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature (vol.I): A Reference Guide, Part One. BRILL. pp. 544–. ISBN 978-90-04-19127-3. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  30. ^ Steven Heine; Dale Wright (22 April 2010). Zen Masters. Oxford University Press. pp. 4–. ISBN 978-0-19-971008-9. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  31. ^ "Asal Usul Marga Wang (王)". Tionghoa.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2023-05-27.

Sources

  • Yuan (袁), Yida (義達) (2002). Chinese Surnames, Group Heredity and Spread of Population (中国姓氏·群体遗传和人口分布). Huadong Training College Publishing Group (華東師範大學出版社). ISBN 7-5617-2769-0.
  • Zhang (臧), Lihe (勵和) (1998). The Great Dictionary of Chinese Names (中國人名大辭典), updated by Xu Shitian (許師慎). The Commercial Press (商務印書館). ISBN 7-100-02555-9.
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