The surname ÃÂn is a Chinese surname () which literally means "peace" or "tranquility". It also serves as an abbreviation of ÃÂnxë (å®Âæ¯), 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 ÃÂn (俺) was a Jewish Chinese surname.
Origins of ÃÂn (å®Â)
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 (å®Âæ³Â欽), a Parthian Buddhist from the Parthian Empire, came to Xijin (西æÂÂ).
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 (康). 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 (å®Âè¿Â) was the Xianbei surname of Uyghur people (Ã¥ÂÂ鶻人) a division of the Hui people; they later reduced the surname to An (å®Â). During the Tang dynasty in the 8th century, the An (å®Â) family name was used among the Xueyantuo (èÂÂ延éÂÂ) people.
Khitan
During the Qing dynasty, Ardan (é¿ç¾丹) the Daur people (éÂÂæ¡ç¾æÂÂ) were given the surname An (å®Â) with the Ar dialect.
Notable people
Historical figures
- An Chonghui (å®ÂéÂÂ誨), a minister of Later Tang
- An Congjin (å®Âå¾Âé²), a general of Later Tang and Later Jin (Five Dynasties)
- An Chongrong (å®ÂéÂÂ榮), a general of the Later Jin (Five Dynasties)
- An Chongzhang (å®ÂéÂÂçÂÂ), Sogdian general and Duke of Liang during the Tang dynasty who had his name changed to Li Baoyu amid the An Lushan Rebellion (to distance himself and his family from the notoriety of the rebel An Lushan)
- An Faqin (å®Âæ³Â欽), Parthian Buddhist in Xijin (西æÂÂ) the Chinese state
- An Jincang (å®ÂéÂÂèÂÂ), Tang Dynasty court
- An Lushan (å®Â祿山), Sogdian-born provincial military governor during the Tang dynasty
- An Min (å®Âæ°Â), Song Dynasty official stone carver
- An Qingxu, Chinese nobility, son of An Lushan
- An Shigao (å®Âä¸Âé«Â), the first Buddhist missionary to China and a former Parthian prince
- An Sishun (å®ÂæÂÂé Â), Tang Dynasty general
- An Xuan, who followed An Shigao to Luoyang several decades later
- An Yanyan (å®Â延åÂÂ), adoptive father of An Lushan, Iranian origin, rumoured to have been surnamed Kang originally
- An Zhengwen (å®Âæ£æÂÂ), Ming Dynasty painter
Modern
- Andy On (å®Âå¿Âæ°; born 1977), American actor and martial artist
- An Dehai (å®Âå¾·æµ·; 1844âÂÂ1869), Qing Dynasty eunuch
- An Disheng (å®Â迪çÂÂ; 1868âÂÂ?), Chinese artist and activist
- An Dongquan (å®Âä¸ÂæÂÂ; born 1987), Chinese para-athlete, Paralympic bronze medalist
- An Feng (å®Âé£Â; born 1987), Chinese-born American actress, changed her name to Liu Yifei (Ã¥ÂÂ亦è²)
- An Jiayao (å®Â家ç¶; born 1947), Chinese archaeologist
- An Jin (å®Âè¿Â; born 1957), Chinese former executive and politician
- Kai-Nan An (å®Âä»ÂÃ¥ÂÂ), Taiwanese biomedical engineering researcher and academic
- An Pingsheng (å®Âå¹³çÂÂ; 1917âÂÂ1999), Chinese politician
- An Qi (å®Âç¦; born 1981), Chinese football goalkeeper
- An Qixuan (å®Âç¦轩; born 2000), Chinese archer, Olympic silver medalist
- An Qiyuan (å®Âå¯åÂ
Â; 1933âÂÂ2024), Chinese politician
- An Weijiang (å®Âä¼Âæ±Â; born 1983), Chinese speed skater
- An Xiangyi (å®Âé¦Âæ¡; born 2006), Chinese figure skater
- Yoson An (å®ÂæÂÂé«; born 1992), Chinese-New Zealand actor and filmmaker
- An Yuexi (å®Âæ¦溪; born 1989), Chinese actress
- An Yulong (å®ÂçÂÂé¾Â; born 1978), Chinese short track speed skater, Olympic silver medalist
- An Zhaoqing (å®ÂÃ¥Â
ÂåºÂ; born 1957), Chinese retired general
- An Zhengyu (å®Âå¾Âå®Â; born 1963), Chinese former politician
- An Zhisheng (å®Âè·çÂÂ; born 1941), Chinese geographer and politician
- An Zhongxin (å®Â仲欣; born 1971), Chinese softball player, Olympic silver medalist
- An Ziwen (å®ÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂÂ; 1909âÂÂ1980), Chinese politician
- An Zuozhang (å®Âä½ÂçÂÂ; 1927âÂÂ2019), Chinese historian and educator
Stage name
- Ady An (å®Â以è»Â; born Wu Wen-ching (å³çÂÂéÂÂ), 1980), Taiwanese actress and singer
- Amber An (å®Âå¿ÂäºÂ; born Liao Ching-ling (å»Â婧伶), 1985), Taiwanese actress, singer, television host, model
- Shone An (å®ÂéÂÂç¨; born Huang Yi-cheng (é»ÂçÂÂæ¿), 1983âÂÂ2015), Taiwanese singer, actor, television host
See also
References