Yan (surname)
Yan is a surname in several languages and the pinyin romanization for several Chinese surnames, including "严 (嚴)", "晏 (晏)", "偃 (偃)", "颜 (顏)", "言 (言)", "燕 (燕)", "阎 (閻)", "闫 (閆)", "鄢 (鄢)" in simplified (traditional) form.
These characters are romanised as Yen in the Wade–Giles romanization system which was commonly used before the early 80s. As such, individuals and institutions who had to romanize their Chinese names prior to that time, such as when having their books translated or publishing manuscripts outside of China, used "Yen" instead of "Yan". Such examples include Yenching University and the Harvard-Yenching Institute. The Yan surname in Taiwan is mostly spelled as Yen since only until recently has the government approved the use of pinyin romanization of names. The Cantonese romanization of these surnames is "Yim". As such, most people from Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora that emigrated prior to 1949 from Guangdong use the name Yim.
On many occasions, the surname "甄 (甄)" is also romanized as Yan in Cantonese. This name in Mandarin is romanized as Zhēn, see Zhen (surname).
Latin alphabet
- Amanda Yan (born 1988), Canadian athlete, in wheelchair basketball and other sports
- Esteban Yan, Dominican baseball pitcher
- Héctor Yan (born 1999), Dominican Republic professional baseball player
- Joseph Yan, Kiribati footballer
- Martin Yan (born 1948), Chinese-Canadian/American television chef
- Petr Yan
- Rico Yan (1975–2002), Filipino actor
- Vasily Yan (1875–1954), Russian writer
严 (嚴)
阎 (閻)
闫 (閆)
| Romanization | Yan |
|---|
Yan (simplified Chinese: 闫; traditional Chinese: 閆), pinyin Yán, originated as a variant of the surname 閻.
Notable people
- 闫峰 Yan Feng
- 闫涵 Yan Han (figure skater), Chinese figure skater
- Yan Liang (handballer) (born 1985), Chinese handballer
- 闫美珠 Yan Meizhu (born 1989), Chinese team handball player
- 闫妮 Yan Ni (born 1971), Chinese actress
- 闫桉 Yan An (born 1996), Chinese member of a Korean boy group Pentagon
顏 (颜)
顏國 鍇 Guy Ngan OBE, New Zealand Artist and Sculptor.
晏
| Romanization | Yan |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Chinese |
| Meaning | late, quiet |
The surname 晏 (Yàn) is relatively uncommon; in 2008 it was the 202nd most common surname in China, shared by around 470,000 citizens. It has three main historical origins:
Near 600 BC, the minister Yan Ruo (晏弱) of the state of Qi took Yan as his last name after he was assigned to govern the town of Yan (modern day town of Yancheng of Qihe county of Shandong province).
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the name of the fifth son of Zhuanxu was Yang'an (阳安) who chose to use the surname 晏 for his descendants.
According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Yan Long (晏龙), a minister of Emperor Yao is the earliest ancestor of the Yan surname on record.
Notable People
- 晏嬰 Yan Ying (578-500 BC), prime minister of the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period.
- An Ruzi (??-489 BC), also known as Yan Ruzi, ruled the state of Qi for a brief period after the death of Duke Jing of Qi.
- 晏殊 Yan Shu (991-1055), writer and politician, served as prime minister during the Song dynasty
- 晏陽初 Y. C. James Yen (1890-1990), Chinese educator and organizer known for his literacy work in rural areas around the world.
- 晏紫 Yan Zi (born 1984), Chinese tennis player.
延
Yan (延) is a Chinese surname. It has various origins:
- during the Han Dynasty, Xirong (西戎) the Loufan (樓煩) get surname Yan (延), branch of Pan (surname) (潘)
- during the Northern Wei (北魏), Emperor Xiaowen (孝文帝) family get surname Yan (延)
- during the Northern Wei (北魏), Xianbei noble's three-syllable surname was reduced to Yan (延)
- during the Ancient, Yue people (越族) Baiyue (百越) get surname Yan (延) in Zhejiang the old Wu (state)
燕
Yan (燕) is a Chinese surname. It has various origins:
- during the Ancient China, Ji (姞) family get surname Yan (燕) with title of Nanyan (state) (南燕國)
- during the Zhou Dynasty, Ji (姬) family get surname Yan (燕) with title of Yan (state) (燕國)
- during the Three Kingdoms Period, Wuhuan people use surname Yan (燕)
- Chinese Murong family get surname Yan (燕) with title of Former Yan (前燕)
Burmese (ရန်ရ)
| Romanization | Yan |
|---|
- Yan Aung Kyaw (born 1989), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
- Yan Aung Win (born 1992), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
- Yan Paing (born 1983), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
- Yan Yan Chan, Burmese singer