en Yan (surname 阎)

阎 / 閻
Romanization	Yan
Origin
Derivation	Yan (fiefdom in Jin)
Other names
Derivative(s)	Yan (surname) 閆

In 2008, (simplified Chinese: 阎; traditional Chinese: 閻) pinyin Yán was estimated to be the 75th most common surname in the People's Republic of China, shared by around 3.1 million citizens,^[1] making it the most common of the surnames written “Yan” without tone markers.

The surname 闫 (閆 in traditional), also Yán, was created as a result of the Second round of simplified Chinese characters, in 1977. Although this series of simplifications was soon retracted, some people retained the simplified surname. One source even suggests that 阎 now more common, as it is shared by 4,900,000 people, and the 78th-most common name,^[2] compared to 闫, shared by 3,200,000 people, or the 103rd most common name.^[3]^{[dubious – discuss]} Both appear on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.

It may be derived from one of the following sources:

from a fief located around Xihua County, Henan, granted to Zhong Yi, a great-grandson of Taibo, by King Wu of Zhou. Another source claims the fief was granted by King Kang of Zhou to his eldest son
from a fief (located around the town of Yanjing in Shanxi) granted to Yi, the prince of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period.^[4]

Notable people

阎崇年 Yan Chongnian (born 1934) Chinese historian
阎芳 Yan Fang, Chinese softball player
Yan Feng (athlete) Chinese paralympic athlete competing in throwing events
阎红 Yan Hong, Chinese race walker
阎连科 Yan Lianke (born 1958), Chinese writer of novels and short stories
阎肃 Yan Su (1930-2016), Chinese lyricist and screenwriter
阎森 Yan Sen (born 1975), Chinese table tennis player
阎世鹏 Yan Shipeng (born 1987), Chinese football player
阎嵩 Yan Song (footballer) (born 1981), Chinese footballer
阎维文 Yan Weiwen (born 1957), Chinese opera singer with origins in the People's Liberation Army
阎相闯 Yan Xiangchuang, Chinese professional footballer
閻錫山 Yan Xishan (1883–1960), warlord
阎学通 Yan Xuetong (born 1952), Dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University

References

^ "中国最新300大姓排名（2008）".
^ "闫姓的来源闫氏的姓氏源流-姓氏大全-百家姓周易起名".
^ "阎姓的来源阎氏的姓氏源流-姓氏大全-百家姓周易起名".
^ The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland edited by Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, Peter McClure

This page lists people with the surname Yan.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

[1] "中国最新300大姓排名（2008）".

[2] "闫姓的来源闫氏的姓氏源流-姓氏大全-百家姓周易起名".

[3] "阎姓的来源阎氏的姓氏源流-姓氏大全-百家姓周易起名".

[4] The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland edited by Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, Peter McClure

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