Chinese surname · rank 297
明
明 is read as míng.
míng
Simplified and traditional 明
bright, light, brilliant; clear
Fire
Time: Spring-and-Autumn Qin Baili Xi and Mengming Shi tradition, Eastern Wei 541 and Northern Qi 569 epitaph evidence in Shandong, Five Dynasties Ming Mian Hubei lineage layer, Song Baijiaxing rank 111 and Song Hunan-Shandong-Henan distribution, Ming Hubei-Sichuan-Shanxi-Henan-Ningxia-Hunan distribution; Xia-dynasty tradition, c. 2070-1600 BCE
Place: Yu state and Qin official context; Baili fief; Ling/Linyi-Deping in Shandong; Hubei Tongshan and Yangxin Ming Mian lineage context; Hunan, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Shanxi, Ningxia, Korean peninsula, Japan, Ryukyu, and Xianbei/Mongol changed-surname contexts; Pingyuan and Wuxing commandery traditions
Origin note
Ming is read ming as a surname. The main source-backed line is a courtesy-name surname: Baili Xi of the Yu/Baili line became a Qin official after the fall of Yu, and his son Baili Shi was known by the courtesy name Mengming; later descendants used the Ming element of an ancestor's courtesy name as a surname. This is the line given by 23mofang and by Tongzhi Shizu Lue summaries. Other layers should stay separate: one tradition connects Ming with descendants of Ming Bao and Duke Qing of Lu; Northern Wei sinicization materials mention Xianbei Doujuan changing to Ming; later Mongol families connected with Minggatu/related names, Ryukyu Ming families, and Korean or Japanese Ming populations are distinct branches. Modern Hubei Ming families often trace to the Five Dynasties figure Ming Mian, but the entry treats that as an important later lineage layer, not proof that all Ming families share one founder.
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.