Yan Family Name#

Family Name: Yan, Pronunciation: yán

Regions with a Prevalence of the Yan Family Name**#

Qufu, Shandong; Zhucheng, Shandong

Origins of the Yan Family Name**#

The current population with the Yan family name is nearly 1.7 million, making it the 112th most common surname in China, accounting for approximately 0.13% of the national population.

Origins of the Yan Name:

1. Derived from the Ji Family Name: The family name was established based on the name of a town. According to the “Xing Pu” (Genealogy) and “Tong Zhi · Shi Zhu Lue” (General Records of Clan Origins), during the Western Zhou Dynasty, Bo Qin, the eldest son of Duke Dan of Zhou, was granted a fief in the state of Lu. One of his concubines’ sons lived in the town of Yan, and from him descended the Yan clan.
2. Derived from the Cao Family Name: The family name also originated from the given name of a royal ancestor. During the Zhou Dynasty, Duke Wu of the state of Zhu named his father “Yi Fu,” with the courtesy name “Yan”; hence, the Yan clan was established.

Ancestor of the Yan Family Name Yi Fu, also known as Duke Yan of Zhu, ascended to the throne as Duke Wu of Zhu. It is said that Lu Zhong, a great-grandson of the ancient emperor Zhuanxu, gave birth to six sons: Fan, Hui Lian, Lai Yan, An, and Ji Lian. After King Wu of Zhou conquered the state of Zhou and granted fiefs to various nobles, he granted a descendant of Lu Zhong’s son An, named Jie, a fief in the area of Zhu. Initially, this state was a vassal of Lu. When the lineage passed to Yi Fu, his courtesy name “Yan” became the basis for the Yan family name. When the state of Zhu was later conquered by the state of Chu, the descendants of Duke Yan adopted his father’s courtesy name as their family name.

Distribution of the Yan Family Name Over the past 1,000 years since the Song Dynasty, the population with the Yan family name has shown a V-shaped growth trend. Currently, the Yan family name is most concentrated in three provinces: Hunan, Guangxi, and Hubei, accounting for approximately 33% of the total Yan population. Other significant populations are found in Shandong, Fujian, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Taiwan, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, which together account for another 48%. Hunan has the largest population of Yan descendants, accounting for 12% of the total. The distribution of the Yan family name is centered around Hunan, Hubei, and Guangxi, spreading outward in a radial pattern.

Frequency of the Yan Family Name

• In areas such as Hunan, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Taiwan, most of Guangdong, Jiangxi, southern Zhejiang, southern Hubei, most of Guizhou, southeastern Yunnan, northern Sichuan, eastern Qinghai, central and western Gansu, the border region of Shandong and Jiangsu, and eastern Heilongjiang, the Yan family name accounts for more than 0.22% of the local population, with some areas having a proportion as high as 2.2%. These regions cover approximately 22.2% of China’s total area and house about 61% of the Yan population.
• In other areas, such as most of Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shanghai, northeastern Jiangxi, southeastern Henan, northern Hubei, southern Shaanxi, southeastern Gansu, western Ningxia, western Inner Mongolia, most of Yunnan and Sichuan, Chongqing, northwestern Guizhou, and western Heilongjiang, the frequency of the Yan family name ranges from 0.11% to 0.22%. These regions account for about 21.2% of the country’s total area and house approximately 31% of the Yan population.

Notable People with the Yan Family Name:

• Yan Hui: A virtuous person from the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period, a favorite disciple of Confucius, who was considered the most talented among Confucius’ students. Confucius praised him for his ability to control his anger and avoid making the same mistakes twice. He died at a young age of 32 and was later revered as a “reborn sage.”
• Yan Zhenqing: A high-ranking official and calligrapher during the Tang Dynasty. Yan Zhenqing was renowned for his regular and cursive script, known for its powerful and majestic style, which became known as the “Yan style.” The Palace Museum houses his 66-year-old work “Bamboo Mountain Rhymes.” He also authored the “Collected Works of Yan Lu Gong.”