Yún (surname)
Yun (simplified Chinese: 云; traditional Chinese: 雲; pinyin: Yún) is a Chinese surname, listed 41st in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.[1]
The small seal script character for Yun | |
Pronunciation |
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Language(s) | Chinese |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Old Chinese |
Meaning | cloud |
Other names | |
Derivative(s) |
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The Chinese character 尹 is also used for the surname Yǐn in China and Doãn in Vietnam. The Korean surname Yun or Youn has no relations with the Doãn surname of Vietnam or Yin of China.
Yun (윤) is a common family name in Korea, which means, “governor”. The name is sometimes also transliterated as Yoon, Yune, Yiun, or Youn.
According to the 2000 census, 948,600 people had the surname in South Korea.[1]
Origin
Very few outside cognates of Old Chinese *[ɢ]ʷən (Baxter-Sagart) exist. Starostin compares it with Mizo vân (“sky, the skies, heaven”) and Karbi inghun (“cloud”). It could possibly derive from a root meaning “to revolve”. Compare 運 (OC *[ɢ]ʷər-s, “to move”), 回 (OC *[ɢ]ʷˤəj, “to whirl, to circle”) (Schuessler, 2007). OC *[ɢ]ʷˤəj bears striking similarities to Ket -ga (Proto-Yenisseian *gaj). [2]
Distribution
Yun is a rare surname,[3] being the 323rd most common surname in China and shared among 156,000 people as of 2013.[4]
Tumeds
Yun is the surname of many Tümeds, a Chinese-speaking Mongol ethnic group.[5] Some Tumeds had the surname "Yun" during China's Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), and claim even more ancient origins. However, adoption of the surname greatly increased during the 1920s, and especially after the 1949 revolution, which increased Mongols' access to education.[6] Mongolian names in the Mongolian language generally do not contain surnames, so Mongols chose surnames when registering for Chinese elementary school. In those schools, adoption of the Yun surname became a social norm for Tumeds, who are largely endogamous.[6] The most famous Tumed with the surname "Yun" was Ulanhu (Chinese: 云泽; pinyin: Yúnzé), chairman of Inner Mongolia (1947–1966) and Vice President of China (1983–1988). During the 1980s and 1990s, the "Yun family" was identified with the dominant "West Mongol" (Tumed) faction in the Inner Mongolian government. The other two factions were that of the "East Mongols" (Khorchin tribe) and the Inner Mongolian Han.[7] The perceived nepotism among the Yun family in Ulanhu's government was a frequent object of satire by government critics. According to anthropologist Uradyn Bulag,[5]
One story tells that when someone went to the Inner Mongolian government building and shouted, "Lao [senior] Yun!" almost half of the office windows were opened. Realizing his mistake, the person shouted, "Xiao [junior] Yun!"; the other half of the windows then opened.... A similar story is that there were so many Yuns seeking to attend Ulahu's funeral in Beijing that it became difficult to buy train tickets.
Notable Chinese people
Historical figures
- Yun Dingxing (云定兴), Sui dynasty general
Modern figures
- Ulanhu (1906–1988), also known as Yun Ze (云泽), former Vice President of the People's Republic of China (1983–1988)
- Yun Bulong (云布龙; 1937–2000), former Chairman of Inner Mongolia (1998–2000)
- Yun Damian (云大棉; born 1935), CPC politician, member of the 8th and 9th CPPCC National Committees
- Hoon Thien How (云天豪; born 1986), Malaysian badminton player
- Wan Cheung (云翔; born 1967), better known as Scud, China-born Hong Kong film producer and director
- Melvin Hoon (@criminalmindd), notable artist in Singapore
Fictional characters
- Wan Fei Yeung (云飞扬), protagonist of the 1979 Hong Kong TV series Reincarnated
Notable Korean people
Yoon Bit-Garam, football player Yoon Bomi, singer, member of South Korean girl group Apink Yun Bong-gil, Korean independence activist Yoon Bora, a member of girl group SISTAR Yun Bo-seon, second president of South Korea Yoon Byung-ho, stage name: Ji Yoon-ho, South Korean actor Yoon Chaekyung, singer, member of South Korean girl group April Yoon Da-gyeong, South Korean actress Yoon Do-hyun, rock singer/songwriter Yoon Do-woon, drummer of South Korean rock band Day6 Yun Dong-ju, poet active during the period of Japanese rule Yoon Doo-joon, singer, leader of boy band Highlight (formerly known as Beast) Yoon Eun-hye, member of inactive South Korean girl group Baby V.O.X, actress (Princess Hours, Coffee Prince) Yun Gwan, military general during the Goryeo dynasty. Yun Hui-sun, militia leader and Korean independence activist Isang Yun, composer James Yun, professional wrestler, better known under the stage name Jimmy Wang Yang Jean Yoon, Canadian actress and writer Yoon Je-kyoon, film director and producer (Sex Is Zero, Haeundae) Yoon Jeong-han, member of South Korean boy group Seventeen (band) Yoon Ji-sung, member of boy band Wanna One Johnny Yune, comedian/actor (They Call Me Bruce?, The Cannonball Run) Yoon Jong-hwan, football player Yoon Jong-shin, singer and songwriter Karl Yune, actor (Memoirs of a Geisha, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid) Yoon Kye-sang, actor (Flying Boys, The Outlaws) and singer, member of pop music group g.o.d Yoon Kyun-sang, actor (The Doctors) Yoon Kyung-shin, Olympic athlete and international handball player Yun Mi-jin, archer and Olympic gold medalist Yoon Mi-rae (born Natasha Shanta Reid), hip hop/R&B singer and rapper Rick Yune, model and actor (The Fast and the Furious, Die Another Day) Sang Yoon, Korean-American restaurateur, chef and founder of Father's Office Yoon Sang-hyun, actor and singer (Queen of Housewives, Secret Garden) Yoon San-ha, member of boy band ASTRO Yoon Se-ah, actress Yun Seon-do, notable poet in the Joseon Dynasty Yoon Shi-yoon, actor (King of Baking, Kim Takgu, Flower Boys Next Door) Yoon So-hee, actress Yoon So-ho, theatre and musical actor Yoon Son-ha, actress (Did We Really Love?) Suk-min Yoon baseball player Yun Suk-young, footballer for South Korea and Queens Park Rangers Tommy Yune, writer/artist (Speed Racer) and director (Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles) Yun Yea-ji, figure skater Youn Yuh-jung, actress (Woman of Fire, The Housemaid)
References
- 百家姓 [Hundred Family Surnames] (in Chinese). Guoxue. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
- http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=config&morpho=0&basename=\data\yenisey\yenet&first=401
- Yang, Chiu-ying (2009-03-25). "Man on the hunt for rare family names". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
- "百家姓"排行榜刷新"王"取代"李"成第一大姓氏. 新华网 (in Chinese). 2013-04-15. Archived from the original on 2013-04-28.
- Bulag, Uradyn Erden (2002). The Mongols at China's Edge: History and the Politics of National Unity. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 213.
- Yun, Xiaomei (2004). Irimoto, Takashi; Yamada, Takako (eds.). "Ethnic Identity of Tumed Mongols in Inner Mongolia". Senri Ethnological Studies. Circumpolar Ethnicity and Identity. 66: 325–341.
- Atwood, Christopher (2005-04-11), China's Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law: Does It Protect Minority Rights?, Roundtable with the First Session of the 109th Congress, Congressional-Executive Commission on China, p. 18