Chinese surname · rank 218
郎
郎 is read as láng.
láng
Simplified and traditional 郎
gentleman, young man; husband
Earth
Time: Spring and Autumn Lu-state Lang-city tradition; Han official-title and South Xiongnu/Shanyue layers; Jin, Qing, and Mongol adoption layers; Spring and Autumn tradition, 770-476 BCE
Place: Lang city near present Yutai in Shandong for the primary Lu-state line; later Beihai Anqiu, Wu commandery, Huainan, Zhongshan, Chongqing, Zhejiang, and northeast Manchu layers
Origin note
Lang is best presented as a place-name surname with later official-title and adoption layers. The concrete traditional line is Ji-surname and Lu-state: after King Wu enfeoffed the Duke of Zhou in Lu, the line reached Lu Yi Gong; his grandson Fei Bo is said to have led troops to Lang, built or occupied Lang city near present Yutai in Shandong, and descendants who stayed there used the name Lang as a surname. 23mofang adds a cautious parallel possibility because both Lu places and Lu were called Lang in the Spring and Autumn period. It also notes that lang was the general term for court offices such as yilang, zhonglang, shilang, and langzhong, so some lines may have arisen from official titles. Later non-Han layers include South Xiongnu Lang aristocratic use, Shanyue Lang families in Wu commandery, Jurchen Nuxilie changing to Lang, Qing Manchu Niohuru/Langjia/Kuyala/Niolu lines, and Mongol Langbuti use.
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