GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 37

袁

袁 is read as yuán.

Pinyin

yuán

Script forms

Simplified and traditional 袁

Basic meaning

robe

Five element

Earth

Origin

Time: Spring and Autumn period; Spring and Autumn tradition, 770-476 BCE

Place: Chen state and Yangxia, today's Taikang area, Henan Province

Origin note

A major Yuan surname tradition traces the surname to the Gui-surname ruling house of Chen, descended from Shun through Chen Hu Gong. The line is connected with Yuan Taotu, also written with related forms such as 辕 or 爰 in older materials. The place layer is usually associated with Yangxia, today's Taikang area in Henan Province. This page therefore treats Yuan as an ancestor-style-name and written-form surname, not simply the modern word 'robe'.

Historical figures

袁绍 (Yuan Shao)

died 202 CE · late Eastern Han warlord

A major northern warlord whose rivalry with Cao Cao shaped the late Han transition.

袁枚 (Yuan Mei)

1716-1797 CE · Qing poet and essayist

A well-known Qing literary figure, remembered for poetry, essays and writings on food culture.

Sources checked