Surname

A surname or family name is a name added to a given name. In many cases, a surname is a family name and many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In the western hemisphere, it is commonly synonymous with last name because it is usually placed at the end of a person's given name.

In most Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries, two or more last names (or surnames) may be used. In China, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Taiwan, Vietnam, and parts of India, the family name is placed before a person's given name.

The style of having both a family name (surname) and a given name (forename) is far from universal. In many countries, it is common for ordinary people to have only one name or mononym.

The concept of a "surname" is a relatively recent historical development, evolving from a medieval naming practice called a "byname". Based on an individual's occupation or area of residence, a byname would be used in situations where more than one person had the same name.

Wang (surname)

Wang (/wɑːŋ/) is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surnames 王 (Wáng) and 汪 (Wāng).

Wáng (王) was listed 8th on the famous Song Dynasty list of the Hundred Family Surnames; it is the most common surname in mainland China.

Wāng (汪) was 104th of the Hundred Family Surnames; it is the 58th-most-common surname in mainland China.

Romanizations

王 is also romanized as Wong in Hong Kong, Macau, Cantonese and Hakka; Ong or Bong in Hokkien; Heng in Teochew; Uōng in Gan; Vang, Vaj, or Vaaj in Hmong; Vương or Vong in Vietnamese; Wang (왕) in Korean; and Ō or Oh in Japanese.

汪 is typically romanized identically, despite its distinct tone. It is also Wong in Cantonese, Ong or Ang in Hokkien, Wang (왕) in Korean, and Ō or Oh in Japanese. However, in Vietnamese, it is written Uông.

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. It was the 6th most common surname on Taiwan in 2005, comprising 4.12% of the general population.

Ding (surname)

Ding (Chinese: 丁; pinyin: Dīng; Wade–Giles: Ting¹) is one of the simplest written Chinese family names (the only two characters that are simpler are "一" and "乙"), written in two strokes.

Origins

Ding is the 46th most common surname in China. There are four main hypothesised sources of Ding:

The hometown of Dings is supposedly northwest of Dingtao, Shandong.