Tan (surname)

Two origins have been suggested for the Tan surname:[2]

• The surname came from the ancient State of Tan which was located in the western part of what is now Shandong Province. During the Spring and Autumn period, this state was conquered by the neighbouring State of Qi. The court changed their surname to Tan in remembrance of their defeated homeland, and later prospered in Hunan Province.
• The surname came from the less common surname 談, another with the same pronunciation in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese Chinese. In order to avoid the revenge of their enemies, the clan leaders changed it to 譚.

A study by geneticist Yuan Yida has found that people with either of the two Tan surnames are especially concentrated in Hunan Province which would tend to support these accounts. This does not mean that they are the most common surnames in that province.[1]

Tan is the Chinese character's Hanyu Pinyin romanisation in Mandarin Chinese. It is pronounced and romanised differently in different languages and dialects.[3]

• In Cantonese Chinese, it is romanised as Taam4 in Jyutping and Tàahm in Cantonese Yale. It is romanised as Tam in Hong Kong and Macau.
• In Toisanese Chinese, it may be romanised as Thom, Hom, Ham or Hum.
• In Hokkien Chinese, Teochew Chinese and Hainanese Chinese, it is romanised as Thâm in POJ.
• In Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore (Overseas Chinese communities), it is sometimes romanised as Tham.
• In Filipino and other Philippine languages (Overseas Chinese communities), it is romanised as Tan.
• In Japan, it may be romanised as Than.

• Bihou

• List of common Chinese surnames
• Chinese surname
• Chinese given name
• Generation name
• Chinese kin
• Chinese compound surname
• Vietnamese name