Chinese surname · rank 332
公
公 is read as gōng.
gōng
Simplified and traditional 公
fair, equitable; public; duke
Earth
Time: Zhou noble-title and compound-surname traditions, Spring and Autumn Lu Gong Yan/Gong Wei lineage tradition, Ming-Qing Mengyin Gong lineage evidence, and modern Manchu-Mongol changed-surname summaries; Spring and Autumn tradition, 770-476 BCE
Place: Lu state in present-day Shandong for the Gong Yan and Gong Wei tradition; Mengyin, Shandong for the Ming-Qing Gong lineage; broader Zhou noble-title context; Manchu and Mongol changed-surname contexts; compound-surname branches across Gongsun, Gongyang, Gongche and Gongcheng lineages
Origin note
Gong is read gong as a surname. The surname should not be confused with the ordinary meaning 'public' or 'fair'. One core layer is title-derived: in Zhou ritual language, gong was the first of the five noble ranks, and surname books treat Gong as one of the surnames formed from noble title. A more specific Lu tradition connects Gong with Gong Yan and Gong Wei, sons of Lu Zhao Gong mentioned in Zuozhuan-related surname summaries; descendants are said to have used Gong as a surname. Another important layer is simplification from compound surnames beginning with Gong, such as Gongsun, Gongyang, Gongche and Gongcheng, all of which belong to noble-title and office-name naming patterns. Modern Gong also includes Manchu, Mongol and other changed-surname branches, while the Mengyin Gong line in Shandong became locally prominent in the Ming and Qing periods.
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