What Kind of Surname is “Mie”?#

The surname: Mie, pronounced as “niè”.

Distribution of the Mie Surname#

According to the book “Junwang Baijiaxing” (A Record of the Hundred Most Famous Surnames), the Mie surname originated from Jinchang Commandery. Additionally, “Xingshike Luoyue” (A Brief Study of Surnames) states that it also originated from Jinchang and Zhao Commanderies. Jinchang Commandery: During the Western Jin to Northern Zhou dynasties, Jinchang Commandery was located in the southeast of present-day Anxi County, Gansu Province. Another Jinchang Commandery (from the Southern Qi dynasty) was in the vicinity of present-day Shiquan County, Shaanxi Province. Zhao Commandery: In the fourth year of Emperor Gao of Han (203 BCE), the Han dynasty renamed the former Handan Commandery of the Qin dynasty as Zhao State, with its capital in Handan (in the central part of present-day Hebei Province). During the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han dynasty (196–219 CE), it was renamed Zhao Commandery, corresponding to the areas around present-day Zhao County and Handan in Hebei Province.

Origin of the Mie Surname#

The origin of the “Mie” surname can be traced to three sources:

1. It may have originated from the Ji surname, with the name of a place becoming the surname. During the Spring and Autumn period, a high-ranking official from the State of Wei was granted land in the area called Mie, and thus adopted the place name as his surname.
2. It could have come from a non-Han ethnic group, possibly descendants of the Mongol people. According to “Tongzhi·Shizhu Lue” (General Records of Clans and Surnames) and “Shanzuo Shiji” (A Collection of Poems from Shandong), the Mie surname originated from Jinchang and Zhao Commanderies.
3. It is also one of the surnames of the Hui ethnic group, mainly found in the northwestern regions of China (as recorded in the “Great Dictionary of the Hui People in China”).

Ancestral Figure of the Mie Surname The ancestor of the Mie surname is also known as Yesen. As mentioned in the ancient text “Shanzuo Shiji,” the Mie surname in Shandong originated from the descendants of Yesen, a Mongol leader who attacked the Ming dynasty during the Zhengtong period of the Ming dynasty. After his defeat, he made peace with the Ming dynasty, and some of his descendants settled in Shandong. During the Ming dynasty, someone mistakenly wrote “Yesen” as “Mie Xian,” and thus the descendants of Yesen adopted the surname Mie.

Migration and Distribution The Mie surname does not rank among the top 100 most common surnames in mainland China or Taiwan. However, in the Song dynasty’s “Baijiaxing” (The Hundred Most Famous Surnames), it was listed before well-known surnames such as Guan, Yue, and Gong, indicating that it was already among the hundreds of most common surnames in China at that time. Historical records show that the Mie surname originated from the ancient Qin and Long regions, which are areas inhabited by ethnic minorities in the northwest. According to “Tongzhi·Shizhu Lue” and “Shanzuo Shiji,” the Mie surname is associated with Jinchang and Zhao Commanderies. Some descendants of Yesen, the Mongol leader, settled in Shandong during the Ming dynasty and gradually mixed with the Han people, adopting the surname Mie. Today, the Mie surname is very rare.

Notes on the Name “Mie” The name “Mie” has multiple origins: one possibly from the Ji surname, another from a non-Han ethnic group, and still another from the Hui ethnic group, with a main distribution in the northwest regions of China.