Yan (surname 顏)

Yan You was the first king of the Xiao Zhu state and was originally known as Cao You. His ancestor was called Yan An who inherited a piece of land, which later flourished into the Zhu Kingdom, a feudal state of Lu Guo. According to the judicial rules of that time, Cao You had to give up his surname in order to ascend the throne. He adopted his father Yi Fu's style name Bo Yan. From then on Cao You was known as Yan You. This officially made Yan You the first Yan in Chinese history.[3]

Zhuanxu was subsequently claimed as an ancestor by Cao (曹). Yellow Emperor (黃帝) --> Changyi (昌意) --> Zhuanxu (顓頊) --> Cheng (称) --> Lao Tong (老童) --> Wuhui (吳回) --> Luzhong (陸終) --> Cao (曹)

• Yan Hui (顏回), disciple of Confucius. His courtesy name was Ziyuan (子淵).
• Yan Wuyou (顏無繇) was the father of Yan Hui.
• Yan Xing (顏幸), also called Yan Xi (顏辛), Yan Liu (顏柳), and Yan Wei (顏韋), was a native of Lu. His courtesy name was Ziliu (子柳).
• Yan Gao, styled Zi-jiao (顏高, 子驕). According to the 'Narratives of the School,' he was the same as Yan Ke (刻, or 剋), who drove the carriage when Confucius rode in Wei after the duke and Nan-zi.
• Yan Zu, styled Xiang and Zi-xiang (顏祖 [al. 相], 襄 and 子襄), a native of Lu.
• Yan Zhipo, styled Zi-shu [or simply Shu] (顏之僕, 子叔 [or simply 叔]), a native of Lu.
• Yan Kuai, styled Zi-sheng (顏噲, 子聲), a native of Lu.
• Yan He, styled Ran (顏何, 冉), a native of Lu. The present copies of the 'Narratives of the School' do not contain his name, and in AD 1588 Ran was displaced from his place in the temples. His tablet, however, has been restored during the Qing.
• Yan Zhengzai (顏徵在), mother of Confucius

• Yan Yi (颜异), a famous wrongful execution happened in 117 BC during Emperor Wu of Han, when the minister of agriculture Yan Yi (颜异), was falsely accused of committing a crime, because he had previously offended the emperor by opposing a plan to effectively extort double tributes out of princes and marquesses.
• Yan Liang (顔良) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. His head was severed by Guan Yu at the Battle of Boma.
• Yan Shao (顔邵) supported Xie Hui's (谢晦) abortive rebellion against the court, and when Xie was defeated, Yan Shao committed suicide by drinking poison.
• Yan Shibo (顔師伯), in 465 Emperor Xiaowu's uncle Liu Yi Gong (劉義恭), Liu Yuan Jing (柳元景), Yan Shibo and others plotted to dispose Liu Ziye (劉子業). When their scheme was exposed. Yan was executed along with his six sons.[4]
• Yan Jianyuan (顏見遠) starved himself to death in an act of piety during the end of Southern Qi (南齊) (479–502 CE).
• Yan Xie (顏協) decided to serve Emperor Wu and the new Liang Dynasty (梁朝) (502–557 CE).[5]
• Yan Zhitui (顏之推) was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, musician, writer and politician who served four different Chinese states during the late Southern and Northern Dynasties: the Liang Dynasty in southern China, the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties of northern China, and their successor state that reunified China, the Sui Dynasty. Yan was also the first person in history to mention the use of toilet paper.
• Yan Jiming (顏季明), An Lushan besieged Changshan, captured Yan Jiming (顏季明), and forced Yan Gaoqing (顏杲卿) to surrender. He refused to give in, led to his son was beheaded. After the fall of Changshan, Yan Gaoqing was taken to Luoyang. An Lushan ordered him to be executed.
• Yan Gaoqing (顏杲卿), An Lushan besieged Changshan, captured Yan Jiming (顏季明), and forced Yan Gaoqing (顏杲卿) to surrender. He refused to give in, led to his son was beheaded. After the fall of Changshan, Yan Gaoqing was taken to Luoyang. An Lushan ordered him to be executed.
• Yan Zhenqing (颜真卿) was a Chinese calligrapher, military general, and politician. He was a leading Chinese calligrapher and a loyal governor of the Tang Dynasty. By the time Yan Zhenqing took up the post of governor of Pingyuan, the An Shi Rebellion was imminent. Yan Zhenqing was secretly strangled at the Longxing Temple (龍興寺) in Caizhou, Henan.

• Gan Kim Yong, Minister of Health of Singapore
• Gan Thiam Poh (颜添宝) is a Singaporean politician and businessperson
• Gan Eng Seng, Chinese businessman and philanthropist who was one of the early pioneers of Singapore
• Yen Chiu-lai, Deputy Minister of the Central Personnel Administration of the Republic of China (2005–2008, 2009–2012)
• Yan Hong-sen, Minister without Portfolio of the Republic of China (2015–2016)
• Yan Jeou-rong, Deputy Minister of Public Construction Commission of the Republic of China
• Yen Shui-long, Taiwanese painter and sculptor
• Yen Hsing-su, also known as Johnny Yen, Taiwanese basketball player
• Ngan Lok Fung, Hong Kong football midfielder
• Kevin Ngan, Hong Kong fencer
• Johnny Ngan, Hong Kong film actor and television actor
• Yan Junling, Chinese football goalkeeper
• Yan Bingtao (颜丙涛), Chinese snooker player
• Yan Huiqing, Chinese writer, politician, and diplomat from Shanghai
• Guy Ngan OBE 顏國鍇 (3 February 1926 – 26 June 2017) was a New Zealand artist.
• Gan Ping Sieu, Malaysian Chinese Association politician
• Frankie Gan Joon Zin (颜骏任) is a Malaysian politician
• Brendan Gan, (1988–present) Malaysian footballer
• Steven Gan (颜重庆/顏重慶)(1963–present), Malaysian journalist
• Gan Wee Teck (颜维德), Malaysian mathematician
• Jeremy Gan Wye Teck (颜伟德) is a Malaysian former badminton player and badminton coach
• James Gan Teik Chai is a Malaysian male badminton player
• Gan Siow Huang (‎颜晓芳) is a Singaporean politician, former and first female general and former highest female officer
• Cherry Ngan (顏卓靈) is a Hong Kong singer, actress and model
• Yan Bingyan (颜丙燕), Chinese actress
• Catherine Yan (颜华菲), Chinese and American mathematician
• Gan Peck Cheng (颜碧贞) is a Malaysian politician
• Heidi Gan (颜海蒂) is a Malaysian distance swimmer
• Gan Mei Yan (颜薇恩) is a Malaysian radio announcer at Astro Radio, actress, TV and event host, brand ambassador, and influencer