Chinese surname · rank 49
任
任 is read as rén.
rén
Simplified and traditional 任
appoint; bear responsibility; office
Earth
Time: Spring and Autumn textual record; older transmitted clan/state traditions; Spring and Autumn tradition, 770-476 BCE
Place: Ren-state and Youreng/Youren traditions around today's Jining and Weishan area, Shandong Province; do not state Henan as the Ren-state origin place unless a direct locality source is added.
Origin note
A major Ren surname tradition connects the name with ancient Ren groups recorded in early texts. Zuo Zhuan names Ren among Feng-surname groups associated with Taihao and Ji River sacrifices. Later surname materials also preserve Ren-state and Huangdi/Yuyang traditions, with the Ren-state locality usually placed around today's Jining and Weishan area in Shandong. Because the traditions are layered, this page should present Ren as an ancient state/clan-name surname, not as a single proven modern-county origin.
Historical figures
任昉
460-508 CE · Liang writer and official
A Southern Dynasties literary figure known for prose and official writing.
任弼时
1904-1950 CE · modern political figure
A twentieth-century Chinese political figure.