Chinese surname · rank 370
宾
宾 is read as bīn.
bīn
Simplified 宾 · Traditional 賓
guest, visitor; submit
Earth
Time: Xia-dynasty tradition, c. 2070-1600 BCE
Place: Xia-era Binyu / Qi-state Bin Xuwu ancestor tradition; possible Zhou branch tradition; Hunan Xiangtan Wang-to-Bin genealogy layer; later Guangxi-Hunan-Guangdong-Sichuan distribution; Shang oracle-bone Bin official hypothesis remains cautious
Origin note
宾 should stay cautious because one strong surname source says the exact derivation is still unclear. The most common transmitted story is an ancestor-name line: Binyu, remembered as a Xia-period official, is linked to later descendants such as the Spring and Autumn Qi minister Bin Xuwu and Bin Meiren; some descendants are said to have used Bin as a surname. A second, more cautious layer treats Bin as a possible Zhou-branch surname noted in later works such as Lushi and Xinghui, but the chain of evidence is not fully explicit. A third layer comes from genealogy: one Hunan Xiangtan Bin lineage says it was originally Wang. Baijiayoupu also records a Shang oracle-bone diviner or Bin-clan hypothesis, but this page keeps that as a hypothesis rather than a proven origin. The everyday meaning guest remains separate from the surname story.
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.