List of most common surnames in Asia
This is a list of the most common surnames in Asia, in alphabetical order of the country.
Armenia
| Rank | Name | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Հովհաննիսյան | Hovhannisyan | Son of Hovhannes (John) |
| 2 | Հարությունյան | Harutyunyan | Son of Harutyun ("resurrection") |
| 3 | Սարգսյան | Sargsyan | Son of Sargis |
| 4 | Խաչատրյան | Khachatryan | Son of Khachatur ("given by cross") |
| 5 | Գրիգորյան | Grigoryan | Son of Grigor (Gregory) |
Azerbaijan
| Rank[1] | Name | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Məmmədov | Mammadov | "Son of Mammad" |
| 2 | Əliyev | Aliyev | "Son of Ali" |
| 3 | Həsənov | Hasanov | "Son of Hasan" |
| 4 | Hüseynov | Huseynov | "Son of Hussein" |
| 5 | Quliyev | Guliyev | "Son of Qulu" |
| 6 | Hacıyev | Hajiev | "Son of Haji" |
| 7 | Rəsulov | Rasulov | "Son of Rasoul" |
| 8 | Süleymanov | Suleymanov | "Son of Suleyman" |
| 9 | Musayev | Musayev | "Son of Musa" |
| 10 | Abbasov | Abbasov | "Son of Abbas" |
| 11 | Babayev | Babayev | "Son of Baba" |
| 12 | Vəliyev | Valiyev | "Son of Vali" |
| 13 | Orucov | Orujov | "fasting" |
| 14 | İsmayılov | Ismayilov | "Son of Ismayil" |
| 15 | Ibrahimov | Ibrahimov | "Son of Ibrahim" |
Bangladesh
|
|
China
According to a comprehensive survey of residential permits released by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security on April 24, 2007,[2][3][4] the top three surnames in China have a combined population larger than Indonesia,[5] the world's fourth-most-populous country. The top 10 surnames each have a population greater than 20 million; the top 22 have populations of more than 10 million. The top 100 surnames cover 84.77% of China's population.
The press release from the Ministry of Public Security only provided detailed numbers for the top three surnames. Information about the others from 2006 comes from a multi-year study by Yuan Yida of the Chinese Academy of Sciences's Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, which purportedly used a sample size of 296 million spread across 1,110 counties and cities.[6]
| Rank | Name | Romanization | Total Number (2007) |
Frequency (2007) |
Estimated Number (2006) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simp. | Trad. | |||||
| 1 | 王 | Wáng [lower-alpha 1]/Wong | 92,881,000 | 7.25% | 92,550,000 | |
| 2 | 李 | Lǐ [lower-alpha 2]/Lee | 92,074,000 | 7.19% | 91,020,000 | |
| 3 | 张 | 張 | Zhāng [lower-alpha 3]/Cheung | 87,502,000 | 6.83% | 86,690,000 |
| 4 | 刘 | 劉 | Liú [lower-alpha 4]/Lau | >20,000,000 | — | 65,280,000 |
| 5 | 陈 | 陳 | Chén /Chan | — | — | 56,640,000 |
| 6 | 杨 | 楊 | Yáng [lower-alpha 5] /Yeung | — | — | 41,680,000 |
| 7 | 黄 | 黃 | Huáng/Wong | — | — | 29,410,000 |
| 8 | 赵 | 趙 | Zhào/Chiu | — | — | 26,180,000 |
| 9 | 吴 | 吳 | Wú [lower-alpha 6]/Ng | — | — | 25,020,000 |
| 10 | 周 | Zhōu/Chow | — | — | 24,330,000 | |
| 11 | 徐 | Xú [lower-alpha 7] /Tsui | >10,000,000 | — | 18,550,000 | |
| 12 | 孙 | 孫 | Sūn/Sun | — | — | 17,940,000 |
| 13 | 马 | 馬 | Mǎ/Ma | — | — | 16,890,000 |
| 14 | 朱 | Zhū/Chu | — | — | 16,460,000 | |
| 15 | 胡 | Hú/Woo | — | — | 14,970,000 | |
| 16 | 郭 | Guō/Kwok | — | — | 14,260,000 | |
| 17 | 何 | Hé/Ho | — | — | 13,340,000 | |
| 18 | 高 | Gāo/Ko | — | — | 12,900,000 | |
| 19 | 林 | Lín/Lam | — | — | 12,500,000 | |
| 20 | 罗 | 羅 | Luó/Law | — | — | 12,400,000 |
Georgia
| Rank | Name | Romanization | Total Number[14] (2010) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ბერიძე | Beridze | 24,962 |
| 2 | მამედოვი | Mammadov Mamedovi |
23,675 |
| 3 | კაპანაძე | Kapanadze | 17,202 |
| 4 | გელაშვილი | Gelashvili | 16,350 |
| 5 | ალიევი | Aliyev Alievi |
15,742 |
| 6 | მაისურაძე | Maisuradze | 14,824 |
| 7 | გიორგაძე | Giorgadze | 12,954 |
| 8 | ლომიძე | Lomidze | 11,796 |
| 9 | წიკლაური | Tsiklauri | 11,571 |
| 10 | ბოლქვაძე | Bolkvadze | 10,916 |
| 11 | კვარაცხელია | Kvaratskhelia | 10,447 |
| 12 | ნოზაძე | Nozadze | 10,183 |
| 13 | ხუციშვილი | Khutsishvili | 10,075 |
| 14 | შენგელია | Shengelia | 9,928 |
| 15 | აბულაძე | Abuladze | 9,663 |
| 16 | მიქელაძე | Mikeladze | 9,220 |
| 17 | ტაბატაძე | Tabatadze | 8,654 |
| 18 | მჭედლიშვილი | Mchedlishvili | 8,446 |
| 19 | ბაირამოვი | Bairamov Bairamovi |
8,373 |
| 20 | გოგოლაძე | Gogoladze | 8,362 |
India
Indian surnames usually derive from occupational titles or caste distinctions and tend to vary among the wide variety of ethnic groups and cultural regions of India. For example, many common family names in the Dravidian states are rare, or nonexistent, in eastern or northern India, and vice versa. Indian family names also originate from the language spoken in the state or community and depend on the religious affiliation of the family. Hindu family names usually come from Pali, Sanskrit or Tamil and may contain the name or title of a family deity, whereas Muslim last names are usually derived from Arabic, Persian or Turkish. Family names may also indicate lower or upper caste origin of the family as many surnames are exclusive only to certain social groups.
| Rank | Name | Meaning | Total Number[15] (2014) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devi [lower-alpha 8] | Goddess | 69,206,943 |
| 2 | Singh [lower-alpha 9] | Lion | 36,058,956 |
| 3 | Kumar [lower-alpha 10] | Prince | 31,014,317 |
| 4 | Das | Devotee | 10,485,481 |
| 5 | Kaur | Princess | 10,382,053 |
Indonesia
Most Indonesians do not use family last name. There is only a small number of ethnic groups which maintain family names.
Israel
|
|
Japan
Officially, there are 291,129 different Japanese surnames,[23] as determined by their kanji, although many of these are spelled and romanized similarly. The top 10 surnames cover approximately 10% of the population, while the top 100 cover slightly more than 33%.[24]
This ranking is a result of "The National Same Family Name Investigation" by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company.[24] This investigation included approximately 6,118,000 customers of Meiji Yasuda's insurance and annuities, as of August 2008.
|
|
Korea
|
|
Philippines
| Rank
(2014)[26] |
Name | Total Number
(2014)[26] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tan | 532,577 |
| 2 | dela Cruz | 518,206 |
| 3 | Bautista | 425,791 |
| 4 | Lim | 415,802 |
| 5 | Villanueva | 356,834 |
| 6 | Chua | 296,642 |
| 7 | Aquino | 271,122 |
| 8 | de Leon | 232,841 |
| 9 | Ong | 213,894 |
| 10 | Delos | 205,903 |
The majority of Filipinos use Spanish surnames that were given to them by their Spanish rulers (See Alphabetical Catalog of Surnames). However, many Filipinos still use their native surnames such as Kalaw, Macaraeg, Gatdula and many others. Filipino Chinese often use their Chinese family names. Some other Filipino mestizos (mixed-ancestry) bear the foreign names of their bloodline.
Taiwan
According to a comprehensive survey of residential permits released by the Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior's Department of Population in February, 2005,[27] Taiwan has only 1,989 surnames. The top ten surnames in Taiwan accounted for 52.62% of the general population, and the top 100 accounted for 96.11%.[27]
| Rank | Character | Romanizations | % of total pop. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Mainland (2007) |
Mandarin | Cantonese | Minnan | Other | |||||||
| Trad. | Simp. | Pinyin | Wade | Jyutping | HK | Other | POJ | Other | ||||
| 1 | 5 | 陳 | 陈 | Chén | Ch'en2 | Can4 | Chan | Chun | Tân | Ting | 11.06% | |
| 2 | 19 | 林 | Lín | Lin2 | Lam4 | Lam | Lum | Lîm | Lim, Liem | 8.28% | ||
| 3 | 7 | 黃 | 黄 | Huáng | Huang2 | Wong4 | Wong | Wang Vang |
Ng | Eng, Ung Wee, Oei Ooi, Uy Bong |
6.01% | |
| 4 | 3 | 張 | 张 | Zhāng | Chang1 | Zoeng1 | Cheung | Chong5 Cheong4 |
Tiu | Teo, Teoh Tio, Thio Tiew |
Tiong | 5.26% |
| 5 | 2 | 李 | Lǐ | Li3 | Lei5 | Lee Li |
Le Lei4 |
Lí | Lee Lie Dee |
5.11% | ||
| 6 | 1 | 王 | Wáng | Wang2 | Wong4 | Wong | Vong | Ông | Heng | 4.12% | ||
| 7 | 9 | 吳 | 吴 | Wú | Wu2 | Ng4 | Ng | Ung4, Eng | Gô• Ngô• |
Goh, Gouw | Woo | 4.04% |
| 8 | 4
45 |
劉 | 刘 | Liú | Liu2 | Lau4 | Lau | Lao4 Lou |
Lâu | Low Lao, Lauw |
3.17% | |
| 9 | 40 | 蔡 | Cài | Ts'ai4 | Coi3 | Choi | Choy Tsoi Toy |
Chhoà | Chua, Choa Tjoa |
Tsay Chai |
2.91% | |
| 10 | 6 | 楊 | 杨 | Yáng | Yang2 | Joeng4 | Yeung | Yeong Ieong4 |
Iû | Eaw Yeo, Yeoh Yong Joe, Yo |
Young | 2.66% |
Thailand
There are no common Thai surnames. Surnames were largely introduced to Thai culture only by the 1913 Surname Act.[28] The law does not allow one to create any surname that is duplicated with any existing surnames.[29] Under Thai law, only one family can create any given surname: any two people of the same surname must be related, and it is very rare for two people to share the same full name. In one sample of 45,665 names, 81% of family names were unique.[30]
Turkey
| Rank[31] | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yılmaz | intrepid/dauntless |
| 2 | Kaya | rock |
| 3 | Demir | iron |
| 4 | Şahin | falcon/hawk |
| 5 | Çelik | steel |
| 6 | Yıldız | star |
| 7 | Yıldırım | thunderbolt |
| 8 | Öztürk | pure Turk |
| 9 | Aydın | cultured/enlightened |
| 10 | Özdemir | pure iron |
| 11 | Arslan | lion |
| 12 | Doğan | falcon |
| 13 | Kılıç | sword |
| 14 | Aslan | lion |
| 15 | Çetin | stiff/tough |
| 16 | Kara | black |
| 17 | Koç | ram |
| 18 | Kurt | wolf |
| 19 | Özkan | pure blood |
| 20 | Şimşek | lightning |
Vietnam
The top 10 surnames cover more than 80% of the population.
- Nguyễn 阮 (38%)
- Trần 陳 (11%)
- Lê 黎 (9.5%)
- Phạm 范 (7.1%)
- Huỳnh/Hoàng 黃 (5.1%)
- Phan 潘 (4.5%)
- Vũ/Võ 武 (3.9%)
- Đặng 鄧(2.1%)
- Bùi 裴 (2%)
- Đỗ 杜 (1.4%)
- Hồ 胡 (1.3%)
- Ngô 吳 (1.3%)
- Dương 楊 (1%)
- Lý 李 (0.5%)
Source: Lê Trung Hoa, Họ Và Tên Người Việt Nam (Vietnamese Family and Personal Names), Social Sciences Publishing House (2005)[32]
See also
- Lists of East Asian surnames
- Lists of most common surnames, for other continents
Notes
- ↑ Most common surname in the world.[7]
- ↑ 4th most common surname in the world.[8]
- ↑ 3rd most common surname in the world.[9]
- ↑ 5th most common surname in the world.[10]
- ↑ 7th most common surname in the world.[11]
- ↑ 9th most common surname in the world.[12]
- ↑ 10th most common surname in the world.[13]
- ↑ 2nd most common surname in the world.[16]
- ↑ 6th most common surname in the world.[17]
- ↑ 8th most common surname in the world.[18]
References
- ↑ Какие самые распространенные фамилии в Азербайджане?. 1news.az (in Russian). Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ↑ Xinhua News. 24 Apr 2007. "中国姓氏排行". "天下第一大姓——王." 14 Nov 2007. Accessed 26 Mar 2012.
- ↑ "公安部统计：'王'成中国第一大姓 有9288万人." 24 Apr 2007. Accessed 27 Mar 2012.(Chinese)
- ↑ Baidu Baike. "新百家姓". (Chinese)
- ↑ Badan Pusat Statistik. "Population of Indonesia by Province 1971, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2010". 2009. Accessed 29 Mar 2012.
- ↑ "全国姓氏排名前二十位人口统计数". National Citizen Identity Information Center. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ↑ Wang Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Li Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Zhang Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Liu Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Yang Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Wu Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Xu Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Georgian Civil Registry Agency. "Popular Names". Accessed 26 Oct 2010. (Georgian)
- ↑ Surnames of India at Forebears
- ↑ Devi Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Singh Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ Kumar Surname Meaning & Statistics
- ↑ כהן, לוי וכל השאר: דירוג 500 השמות הנפוצים [Cohen, Levi and the rest: the 500 most common names] (in Hebrew). Ynet. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ↑ Kaganoff, B. C. A Dictionary of Jewish Names and Their History. Schocken Books (New York), 1977. Zeichner, Saul. Kolomea Research Group. "Surnames of Interest: Origins and/or Meanings". 3 Nov 2010. Accessed 1 Feb 2012.
- ↑ Beider, Alexander & al. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu (New York), 1993. Zeichner, Saul. Kolomea Research Group. "Surnames of Interest: Origins and/or Meanings". 3 Nov 2010. Accessed 1 Feb 2012.
- ↑ Gotthard Deutsch. Jewish Encyclopedia. "Katz". 1906. Accessed 1 Feb 2012.
- ↑ 日本苗字大辞典 [Japanese Surname Dictionary]. 芳文館 [Houbunkan]. 1996. ISBN 4990058402.
- 1 2 "明治安田生命 全国同姓調査 [Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company - National same family name investigation]" (PDF) (Press release). Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company. 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
- ↑ South Korean National Statistical Office. 2000 Census.
- 1 2 http://forebears.io/philippines#surnames
- 1 2 中华百家姓-千字文-国学经典-文化经典. "中国台湾姓氏排行 [Taiwan (China) Surname Ranking]". 8 Jun 2010. Accessed 1 Apr 2012. (Chinese)
- ↑ Asian Times. "What's in a name? The number nine, if you want."
- ↑ รศ. ดร.นิตยา กาญจนะวรรณ. เรื่องของนามสกุล (๒) (in Thai). Royal Institute of Thailand. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
- ↑ 45,665 Thai names: Examining passlist.96, by Doug Cooper
- ↑ Turkish Directorate-General of Population and Citizenships
- ↑ http://www.minhkhai.com.vn/Search.aspx?s=H%e1%bb%8d%20V%c3%a0%20T%c3%aan%20Ng%c6%b0%e1%bb%9di%20Vi%e1%bb%87t%20Nam