Chinese surname · rank 358
贝
贝 is read as bèi.
bèi
Simplified 贝 · Traditional 貝
sea shell; money, currency
Water
Time: Western Zhou tradition, 1046-771 BCE
Place: Jue / Bei state-place layer around Qinghe or Julu, plus Beiqiu place-name tradition.
Origin note
Bei is treated as a surname from state-name, place-name, and later changed-surname layers, not from the shell or money meaning of . The central traditional line links it to the Zhou royal Ji lineage: descendants or collateral lines of Shao Gong were associated with Jue/, also written with the Bei element, around the Qinghe or Julu area, and later simplified or wrote the surname as Bei. A second layer comes from place names such as Beiqiu, with residents taking the local name as a surname. Other surname references record additional rare origins, including early Bei-state or Bei clan traditions and later ethnic or changed-surname material. This page therefore presents Bei as a multi-layer surname centered on Ji-lineage state/place names, while keeping the everyday shell/currency meaning separate.
Historical figures
Historical figures to enrich
This surname page is ready for a fame-ranked figure list. Later passes can add generals, poets, rulers, artists, scholars and modern public figures with source links.