Chen (surname)
Chén (Simplified Chinese: 陈, Traditional Chinese: 陳; Wade-Giles: Ch'en) is one of the most common Chinese family names. It ranks at the 5th most popular surname in Mainland China. Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. It is usually romanised as Chan in Cantonese, and sometimes as Chun. In Fukien (Hokkien, Taiwanese, Southern Min), Teochew (Chiuchau) as well as Hainanese, the name is pronounced Tan. In Hakka, the name is spelt and pronounced as Chin. Some other Romanisations include Zen and Ding.
In Vietnam, this surname is written in Quoc Ngu as Trần, and is the second most popular Vietnamese surname, accounting for 11% of the population,[1] after the surname Nguyễn (38.4%).
Chen is also a Hebrew family name used by Israelis. It is pronounced khen, and means grace or favour.
History
The initial surname Chen was from Gui (Chinese: 媯, pinyin: Gūi), which was an ancient Chinese surname of descendants of Emperor Shun, who was one of the Three August Ones and Five Emperors. When King Wu of Zhou established the Zhou Dynasty, he gave the Land of Chen to the descendants to establish their own state. To show his respect for Emperor Shun, the new state, which was also named by Chen, was one of the Three Guest States of Zhou (Chinese: 三恪, pinyin: Sān Kè), which meant this nation was not the subordinate, but the guest of Zhou. However, the Chen state was occupied by Chu after the 10th century BC. Since then, the people of this state began to use Chen as their surname.
Other variations
- Chan, used in Cantonese
- Chin, used in Hakka, Taishan and Japanese
- Chun or Jin, used in Korean
- Son, used in Hainanese
- Tan (Tân), used in Teochew in Singapore, Min Nan (including Taiwanese)
- Tang, used in Teochew
- Ting or Ding, used in Fuzhou
- Trần, used in Vietnamese
- Zen, used in the Shanghainese
Prominent people
- Agnes Chan (陳美齡), Hong Kong singer, also famous in Japan
- Anna Chan Chennault, first female reporter for the Central News Agency
- Eason Chan (陳奕迅), Hong Kong actor and singer
- Jackie Chan, Hong Kong actor
- Johnny Chan, poker player
- Priscilla Chan, Hong Kong singer
- Rulers of the Chen Dynasty
- Bruce Hwang Chen, Taiwanese-American director
- Cheer Chen (陳綺貞), Taiwanese singer
- Chen Duxiu, Communist Party of China founder
- H. T. Chen, American dancer and choreographer
- Chen Hong, Chinese badminton player
- Jiebing Chen, erhu player
- Chen Jingrun, mathematician (1933-1996)
- Joan Chen Chong, Chinese-American actress and film director
- Chen Kaige, Fifth Generation Chinese filmmaker
- Kelly Chen Wai-Lam, Hong Kong actress and singer
- Chen Kenichi, the only "Iron Chef Chinese" in the syndicated TV program Iron Chef
- Chen Kenmin, father of the above and a prominent Chinese chef in Japan
- Robert Chen, violinist, Concertmaster of Chicago Symphony Orchestra
- Chen Shanshan, Chinese classical guitarist
- Chen Shi-zheng, Chinese opera performer
- Chen Shui-bian, first non-KMT President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Sisy Chen, Taiwanese politician
- Stephen Laochariyakul Chen, Teco Diagnostics
- Steve Chen, President and/or pride of Lansdowne
- Steve Chen, supercomputer designer
- Steve Chen (YouTube), co-founder, YouTube
- Chen Tsyr-shiou, Chairman of Taiwan Province
- Tze-Chung Chen, Taiwanese professional golfer
- Chen Yi, Communist Party of China military commander
- Chen Yi, composer
- Chen Yi, Chief executive of Taiwan Province
- Chen Yu, Chinese badminton player
- Chen Yuanyuan, concubine of Wu Sangui
- Chen Zhi, classical guitarist
- Shiing-Shen Chern (陳省身), mathematician
- Arthur Chin, fighter ace
- Ming W. Chin, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
- Chin Peng (陳平), Long-time leader of now disbanded Malayan Communist Party
- Tiffany Chin, figure skater
- Chin Siu Dek, aka Jimmy H. Woo, brought one of the Chinese martial arts, Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung, or Kung Fu San Soo from Taishan to America, as noted here
- Vincent Chin, victim of racial crime
- Chun Doo Hwang
- Rulers of the Tran Dynasty
- David Tran, Vietnamese American hot sauce producer and founder of Huy Fong Foods
- Trần Đức Lương, President of Vietnam
- Trần Hưng Đạo, Vietnamese national hero
- Steph Tran, superstar of alternative radio in Canada
- Tan Kah Kee (陳嘉庚), prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore and China.
- Tony Tan Keng Yam (陈庆炎), the former Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence of Singapore
Fictional characters with surname Chen
- Charlie Chan, a fictional detective
- Chen is a fictional character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf
References
- ^ Họ và tên người Việt Nam của Lê Trung Hoa, Nhà xuất bản Khoa học - Xã hội, 2005