GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 263

练

练 is read as liàn.

Pinyin

liàn

Script forms

Simplified 练 · Traditional 練

Basic meaning

to practice, drill, exercise, train

Five element

Earth

Origin

Time: Tang Zhenguan imperial-grant layer in 645, Song Jiangning and Jianzhou figure layer, Ming Jiangxi-Suzhou-Henan figure layer, Qing Guangdong scholarly layer, and later southeast migration and restoration layers; Tang-layer tradition, 618-907 CE

Place: Hanoi County in Henan; Qishan title tradition; Liandu near southwest Suzhou, Jiangsu; Lianxi near She County, Anhui; Lianjiang near Chaoyang, Guangdong; Jianning and Pucheng in Fujian; Xingan in Jiangxi; Meixian in Guangdong; Taiwan and overseas communities

Origin note

is treated as a layered surname. The most prominent genealogical line begins with Dong He, also called Lian He in later family records: he was from Hanoi in Henan, served in the Tang Zhenguan period, joined the Goguryeo campaign, and was said to have been granted the surname Lian because of the phrase jinglian junrong, meaning skilled or well-drilled in military affairs. A second layer is place or water-name based: 23mofang lists old names such as Liandu near southwest Suzhou, Lianxi at She County in Anhui, and Lianjiang near Chaoyang in Guangdong as possible surname contexts. Later clan histories trace southeast branches through Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Taiwan, and overseas communities, and some records describe Jingnan-era descendants temporarily changing away from Lian and later restoring the surname. These layers are kept distinct, with the Tang grant treated as the main documented family-tradition line.

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.

Sources checked

  • 23mofang surname library: Lian - Liandu, Lianxi, Lianjiang place-water layers, Dong He genealogy tradition, minority or changed-surname layers, and Song-Ming-Qing figures
  • Wikipedia: Lian surname - Dong He Tang Zhenguan grant, 645 date, Qishan marquis note, Jingnan-era changed-surname and restoration tradition
  • Wikisource: Lianshi Suyuan Xu - Dong He, Hanoi, Tang campaign, jinglian junrong grant, Qishan marquis, and lineage narrative
  • Jiapu: Lian surname origin - Lian He lineage, Fujian-Jiangxi-Guangdong migration, Taiwan, and overseas branches
  • Han Dian: - basic meaning and surname listing