GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 274

南

南 is read as nán.

Pinyin

nán

Script forms

Simplified and traditional 南

Basic meaning

south; southern part; southward

Five element

Fire

Origin

Time: Xia-descendant You Nan/Nan state layer, Shang middle Nan state split layer, Western Zhou Nanzhong layer of about 2800 years in 23mofang, Spring-and-Autumn Wei Lu and Chu layers of about 2500 to 2600 years, Song Shaanxi-Gansu distribution layer, Ming Shaanxi-centered expansion layer, and Qing Manchu changed-surname layer; Xia-dynasty tradition, c. 2070-1600 BCE

Place: You Nan or Nan state around today's Nanyang, Henan, and Jingzhou, Hubei; Jingzhou; Wei and Lu contexts; Chu context; Nanshiang; Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi, Zhejiang, Hebei, Hubei, Liaoning, Jilin, Beijing, Shandong, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jiangsu, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Chongqing, Fujian, Shanghai, and Yunnan distribution contexts; Manchu Eight Banner Namudulu and Nara contexts

Origin note

Nan is read nn as a surname. The origin should be presented as a set of separate layers, not a single founder. One old state-name layer is the Si-surname tradition: descendants of Xia Yu were linked with You Nan, also written as Nan or Nan state; 23mofang places one Nan polity around today's Nanyang, Henan, and another around Jingzhou, Hubei, before later conquest by Xie and Chu traditions. A second layer is Zi-surname: Pan Geng's consort Jiang is said to have borne Nan Chilong, and his descendant Nanzhong served as a Zhou Xuanwang-period minister; later descendants used Nan as a surname. A third layer is Ji-surname and courtesy-name based: Wei Linggong's son Gongzi Ying was styled Zinan, Wei Xiangong's son Gong Nanchu was also called Nanchu, and Lu aristocratic lines around Nan Qian and Nan Kuai are recorded as Nan branches. A fourth layer is Mi-surname Chu: Chu Zhuangwang's son Zhuishu was styled Zinan, with Zinan later shortened to Nan. Additional later layers include a Jin-period recluse associated with Nanshiang and Qing Manchu Namudulu or Nara families changing to Nan. The page keeps state, ancestor-name, courtesy-name, place-name, and changed-surname layers separate.

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: Nan - Si, Zi, Ji, and Mi origin layers, You Nan/Nan state, Nan Chilong, Nanzhong, Zinan, Lu Nan lines, chronology, Song-Ming distribution, and Qing Manchu Namudulu/Nara changed-surname layer
  • Wikipedia: Nan surname - Baijiaxing absence, Xia Yu/You Nan, Pan Geng/Nan Chilong/Nanzhong, Wei Zinan, Nanshiang, Bi surname, Zhang-family legend, and Nara changed-surname note
  • Baijiayoupu: Nan surname encyclopedia - Nanzhong ancestor-name account, six-source summary, Wei, Chu, Lu, Nanshiang, distribution, and named historical figures
  • Mingmen Xiupu: Nan surname origin - Xia Yu, Pan Geng/Nan Chilong, Wei Linggong/Gongzi Ying/Zinan, minority-surname, Henan concentration, migration, and Runan commandery notes
  • Han Dian: Nan character entry - basic meaning and surname listing