Chen (surname)

Chen
Chen surname in regular script
Romanization
  • Chen (Mandarin)
  • Chan (Cantonese)
  • Tan (Hokkien, Teochew)
  • Tang (Teochew)
  • Chin (Taishanese, Hakka, Japanese)
  • Zen (Wu)
  • Ding (Eastern Min, Gan)
  • Ting (Eastern Min)
  • Jin, Chin (Korean)
  • Trần (Vietnamese)
  • Taing (Khmer)
Pronunciation
Language(s)Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien)
Origin
Language(s)Old Chinese
Word/name
DerivationGui (ancestral surname)
Other names
Derivative(s)

Chen ([ʈʂʰə̌n] ⓘ) is a common Chinese-language surname and one of the most common surnames in Asia. It is the most common surname in Taiwan (2010)[1] and Singapore (2000).[2] Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Macau, and Hong Kong. It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the ancestral hometown of many overseas Hoklo.[3]

Chen was listed 10th in the Hundred Family Surnames poem, in the verse 馮陳褚衛 (Féng Chén Chǔ Wèi).

In Cantonese, it is usually romanized as Chan (e.g., Jackie Chan), most widely used by those from Hong Kong, and also found in Macau and Singapore. It is also sometimes spelled Chun. The spelling Tan usually comes from Southern Min dialects (e.g., Hokkien), while some Teochew dialect speakers use the spelling Tang. In Hakka and Taishanese, the name is spelled Chin. Spellings based on Wu include Zen and Tchen. There are many spellings based on its Hainanese pronunciations, including Dan, Seng, and Sin.[4][5]

In Vietnam, this surname is written as Trần (in Quốc Ngữ) and is 2nd most common. In Thailand, this surname is the most common surname of Thai Chinese and is often pronounced according to Teochew dialect as Tang. In Cambodia, this surname is transliterated as Taing. In Japanese, the surname is transliterated Chin (ちん). In Korean it is transliterated Jin or Chin (진).

In Indonesia, many Chinese Indonesians who originally had this surname adopted the Indonesian surname Chandra, Hartanto, and other surnames with the prefix Tan.[6]

Chen is 5th most common surname in mainland China, but 4th most common in the world due to the larger overseas population. With all its various spellings and pronunciations, there are around 80–100 million people surnamed 陳/陈 worldwide.[7]

The surname Cheng (程) is sometimes romanized as Chen (e.g., John S. Chen). Another less common Chinese surname 諶/谌 (Shen) can also be romanized as Chen.[8]

  1. ^ "Common Chinese Names". Technology.chtsai.org. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Statistics Singapore - Popular Chinese Surnames in Singapore". Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  3. ^ 厦门第一大姓陈氏：先辈300万贯钱买厦门岛. China Review News (in Chinese). 1 October 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  4. ^ 罗健名 (2012). "新加坡华人姓氏平写法研究". In 罗福腾 (ed.). 《新加坡华语应用研究新进展》. Global Publishing. p. 248. ISBN 9789813205970.
  5. ^ 梁猷刚 (1988). 《海南音字典（普通话对照）》. 华南师范大学中文系《方音字典》. 广东人民出版社. p. 75. ISBN 7218001955. Hainanese Transliteration Scheme: Ddan2 or Sin2 The Hainanese Transliteration Scheme is based on the prestige Wenchang dialect.
  6. ^ "Hartanto". My China Roots.
  7. ^ "公安部发布去年全国姓名报告，"王、李、张"姓排前三" 公安部发布去年全国姓名报告，"王、李、张”姓排前三. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  8. ^ "谌(諶) Shèn 名 姓。另见162页 chén。")現代漢語詞典(第七版). Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (Seventh Edition). Commercial Press. 1 September 2016. p. 1165. ISBN 978-7-100-12450-8.