Wang (surname)

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Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Expand Chinese Template:Infobox surname

Wang (Template:IPAc-en) is the pinyin romanization of the common Chinese surname Template:Lang (Wáng). It has a mixture of various origin with uncertain lineage of family history, however 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.<ref name="Eastday">"Template:Lang Template:Webarchive [Public Security Bureau Statistics: 'Wang' Found China's #1 'Big Family', Includes 92.88m People]." 24 Apr 2007. Accessed 27 Mar 2012.Template:In lang</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

A separate surname Template:Lang (Wāng) is also romanized as Wang.

Wang also has less common unrelated origins in the Scandinavian and Germanic languages.

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.<ref name="Xinhua">Xinhua Net. Template:Lang. Template:In lang</ref><ref>People's Daily. "Chinese surname shortage sparks rethink Template:Webarchive".</ref>

A 2018 survey found that there were over 100 million bearrers in China, ranking first.<ref name=":0" />

Wang was also the most common surname in Mainland China in 2019.<ref name="bjnews.com.cn">Template:Cite web</ref>

A 2013 study found the province with the most people sharing the name was Henan. Overall, the name is more prevalent in Northern China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="bjnews.com.cn"/>

It was the 6th most common surname in Taiwan in 2018, comprising 4.10% of the general population.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Ong is the 5th-most-common surname among Chinese Singaporeans and Wang the 6th, although Wong can also include the surname 黃 (Huang in Mandarin).<ref>Statistics Singapore. "Popular Chinese Surnames in Singapore".</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This is a double increase from 2000, when 63,800 Wangs ranked 10th most common amongst Asian Americans and 440th amongst all Americans, respectively.<ref name="US">Template:Cite web</ref> There are 51,000 Wangs in California, 17,000 in New York, 10,400 in Texas, 5,900 in New Jersey, and 5,700 in Illinois. Californian Wangs rank 55th in the state, the highest rank for Wang for any state. Wang and Wong are sometimes interchangeable, as well as other Wang-based surnames so the number could vary.Template:Citation needed

Wang (Template:Korean) is a fairly rare surname in South Korea. The year 2000 South Korean Census listed only 23,447 Wangs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Origins of Wang

Wang Template:Lang is the Chinese word for "king". William Baxter and Laurent Sagart reconstructed the Old Chinese form of Wáng as Template:Old Chinese and the Middle Chinese as hjwang.<ref name="BaxSag">Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. Template:Cite web Template:Small, p. 48. 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011.</ref>

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.<ref>Origin of the surname Wang, Wong, Ong, Heng Template:Webarchive.</ref>Template: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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template: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 HenanTemplate:Where during these times and developed into the famous Wang family of Ji prefecture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

House of Ji

Other bearers of the surname Wang 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.<ref>Wang Ziqiao Template:Webarchive</ref>

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, present day Luoyang. 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".<ref>Chinese surname history: Wang Template:Webarchive, under paragraph 2</ref>

Another origin of 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 disowned by his father. His descendants adopted the surname Wang in commemoration of his former royal status.<ref>Oxford Dictionary</ref>

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.Template:Which

During the Tang dynasty the Li clan of Zhaojun Template:Lang, the Cui clan of Boling Template:Lang, the Cui clan of Qinghe Template:Lang, the Lu clan of Fanyang Template:Lang, the Zheng clan of Xingyang Template:Lang, the Wang clan of Taiyuan Template:Lang, and the Li clan of Longxi Template:Lang were the seven noble families between whom marriage was banned by law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moriya Mitsuo wrote a history of the Later Han-Tang period of the Taiyuan Wang. Among the strongest families was the Taiyuan Wang.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="WangBarnstone1991">Template:Cite book</ref> He was the son of Wang Chulian who in turn was the son of Wang Zhou.<ref name="Yang2007">Template:Cite book</ref>

The marriages between the families were performed clandestinely after the prohibition was implemented on the seven families by Gaozong.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Zhou dynasty King Ling's son Prince Jin is assumed by most to be the ancestor of the Taiyuan Wang.<ref name="Warner2003">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="Warner2014">Template:Cite book</ref> Both Buddhist monks and scholars hailed from the Wang family of Taiyuan such as the monk Tanqian.<ref name="Chen2002">Template:Cite book</ref> The Wang family of Taiyuan included Wang Huan.<ref name="Moore2004">Template:Cite book</ref> Their status as "Seven Great surnames" became known during Gaozong's rule.<ref name="Nienhauser2010">Template:Cite book</ref> The Taiyuan Wang family produced Wang Jun who served under Emperor Huai of Jin.<ref name="KnechtgesChang2010">Template:Cite book</ref> A Fuzhou-based section of the Taiyuan Wang produced the Buddhist monk Baizhang.<ref name="HeineWright2010">Template:Cite book</ref>

Other countries

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East Asia

Korea

Template:Infobox Korean name/auto 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 (Template:Langx) 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 (Template:Literally). However, in southern Germany, its meaning of "grassy slope" or "field of grass" is more similar to the Scandinavian surname.

Notable people surnamed Wang

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Historical figures

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Mainland China

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Taiwan

Hong Kong

Korea

Indonesia

Malaysia

Singapore

In non-Asian countries

Australia

Austria

Canada

Norway

United States

United Kingdom

Fictional people

See also

Notes

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References

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Sources

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