Wang (surname)


Wang is the pinyin romanization of the common Chinese surname '. 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.
A separate surname ' 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.
A 2018 survey found that there were over 100 million bearers in China, ranking first.
Wang was also the most common surname in Mainland China in 2019.
A 2013 study found the province with the most people sharing the name was Henan. Overall, the name is more prevalent in Northern China. 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.
It was the 6th most common surname in Taiwan in 2018, comprising 4.10% of the general population.
Ong is the 5th-most-common surname among Chinese Singaporeans and Wong the 6th, although Wong can also include the surname 黃. 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. This is a double increase from 2000, when 63,800 Wangs ranked 10th most common amongst Asian Americans and 440th amongst all Americans, respectively. 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.
Wang is a fairly rare surname in South Korea. The year 2000 South Korean Census listed only 23,447 Wangs.

Origins of Wang

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

House of Zi

The most ancient family name of Wang was originated from the surname Zi. 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". 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 during these times and developed into the famous Wang family of Ji prefecture.

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.
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, 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".
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.
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 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.
During the Tang dynasty the Li clan of Zhaojun w:zh:赵郡李氏, the Cui clan of Boling w:zh:博陵崔氏, the Cui clan of Qinghe w:zh:清河崔氏, the Lu clan of Fanyang w:zh:范陽盧氏, the Zheng clan of Xingyang w:zh:荥阳郑氏, the Wang clan of Taiyuan w:zh:太原王氏, and the Li clan of Longxi w:zh:隴西李氏 were the seven noble families between whom marriage was banned by law. Moriya Mitsuo wrote a history of the Later Han-Tang period of the Taiyuan Wang. Among the strongest families was the Taiyuan Wang. 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. He was the son of Wang Chulian who in turn was the son of Wang Zhou.
The marriages between the families were performed clandestinely after the prohibition was implemented on the seven families by Gaozong. The Zhou dynasty King Ling's son Prince Jin is assumed by most to be the ancestor of the Taiyuan Wang. 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. Both Buddhist monks and scholars hailed from the Wang family of Taiyuan such as the monk Tanqian. The Wang family of Taiyuan included Wang Huan. Their status as "Seven Great surnames" became known during Gaozong's rule. The Taiyuan Wang family produced Wang Jun who served under Emperor Huai of Jin. A Fuzhou-based section of the Taiyuan Wang produced the Buddhist monk Baizhang.

Other countries

East Asia

Korea

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 / Jeon / Ok to avoid severe persecution from the succeeding Joseon dynasty. The Kaesong Wang lineage traces its ancestry to the Goryeo rulers.

Japan

Ō is a rare Japanese name, mostly held by those of Chinese descent, such as the baseball player Sadaharu Oh, also known as Wang Chen-chih, as well as Go player, Ō Rissei.

Southeast Asia

Indonesia

In Indonesia, the surname is often romanized as "Heng", "Bong" or "Ong" for people of Hokkien descent, 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, 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. However, in southern Germany, its meaning of "grassy slope" or "field of grass" is more similar to the Scandinavian surname.

Notable people surnamed Wang

Historical figures

Mainland China

Taiwan

Hong Kong

Korea

Indonesia

Malaysia

  • Wang Shujin, Malaysian educationist, social worker and philanthropist
  • Wang Wenhua /, Leader of the Malayan Communist Party
  • Michael Wong, Malaysian singer and songwriter

Singapore

In non-Asian countries

Australia

Austria

Canada

Norway

United States

United Kingdom

Fictional people