An (Chinese surname)
The surname Ān is a Chinese surname which literally means "peace" or "tranquility". It also serves as an abbreviation of Ānxī, meaning "Arsacid" in Chinese and can be romanized as On. Visitors to China who came from Arsacid-held territories often took the name An. In 2008, it was the 110th most common surname in the People's Republic of China, shared by over 1.7 million citizens. The surname is most common in Northern China. It is the 79th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.
During the Song dynasty, another Ǎn was a Jewish Chinese surname.
Origins of Ān (安)
Iranian
Parthian
During the Qin and Han dynasty, the most common origin of the surname An was as a contraction of Anxi, meaning "Arsacid", and was thus given to people of Arsacid-territory origin, such as An Shigao, a Prince of Persia from the Arsacid Empire. An Xuan, another Parthian, followed An Shigao to Luoyang and assisted in his translations of Buddhist texts.During the 3rd century, An Faqin, a Parthian Buddhist from the Parthian Empire, came to Xijin.
Sogdian
In the Tang dynasty period 9th century, An was also sometimes used as the name for the region of Sogdia; previously, Sogdians had exclusively used the surname of Kang. The addition was due to the existence of two Sogdian kingdoms, identified as An and Kangju; the state of An was accordingly named due to its occupation by the Arsacids. It is considered one of the "Nine Sogdian Surnames."Xueyantuo
During the Northern Wei period in the 6th century, Anchi/Anzhi was the Xianbei surname of Uyghur people a division of the Hui people; they later reduced the surname to An. During the Tang dynasty in the 8th century, the An family name was used among the Xueyantuo people.Khitan
During the Qing dynasty, Ardan the Daur people were given the surname An with the Ar dialect.Notable people
Historical figures
- An Chonghui, a minister of Later Tang
- An Congjin, a general of Later Tang and Later Jin (Five Dynasties)
- An Chongrong, a general of the Later Jin
- An Chongzhang, Sogdian general and Duke of Liang during the Tang dynasty who had his name changed to Li Baoyu amid the An Lushan Rebellion
- An Faqin, Parthian Buddhist in Xijin the Chinese state
- An Jincang, Tang Dynasty court
- An Lushan, Sogdian-born provincial military governor during the Tang dynasty
- An Min, Song Dynasty official stone carver
- An Qingxu, Chinese nobility, son of An Lushan
- An Shigao, the first Buddhist missionary to China and a former Parthian prince
- An Sishun, Tang Dynasty general
- An Xuan, who followed An Shigao to Luoyang several decades later
- An Yanyan, adoptive father of An Lushan, Iranian origin, rumoured to have been surnamed Kang originally
- An Zhengwen, Ming Dynasty painter
Modern
- Andy On, American actor and martial artist
- An Dehai, Qing Dynasty eunuch
- An Disheng, Chinese artist and activist
- An Dongquan, Chinese para-athlete, Paralympic bronze medalist
- An Feng, Chinese-born American actress, changed her name to Liu Yifei
- An Jiayao, Chinese archaeologist
- An Jin, Chinese former executive and politician
- Kai-Nan An, Taiwanese biomedical engineering researcher and academic
- An Pingsheng, Chinese politician
- An Qi, Chinese football goalkeeper
- An Qixuan, Chinese archer, Olympic silver medalist
- An Qiyuan, Chinese politician
- An Weijiang, Chinese speed skater
- An Xiangyi, Chinese figure skater
- Yoson An, Chinese-New Zealand actor and filmmaker
- An Yuexi, Chinese actress
- An Yulong, Chinese short track speed skater, Olympic silver medalist
- An Zhaoqing, Chinese retired general
- An Zhengyu, Chinese former politician
- An Zhisheng, Chinese geographer and politician
- An Zhongxin, Chinese softball player, Olympic silver medalist
- An Ziwen, Chinese politician
- An Zuozhang, Chinese historian and educator