Lang (Chinese surname)

Láng (Chinese: 郎; pinyin: Láng) is a surname of Chinese and Manchu origin. It was an official title in imperial times, meaning "minister" or "councillor".[1] According to a 2013 study, it is the 242nd most common surname in China; around 370,000 people (0.028% of the total population) have the name, and it is most common in the province of Hebei.[2] It is the 48th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.

Origins

  • Lang (郎) was the name of a city where Fei Bo (費伯), the grandson of Duke Yi of Lu, lived. Some of his descendants later changed their original surname Fei to Lang (郎).[3]
  • The surname is also borne by some families from the state of the South Huns.[3]
  • Additionally, during the Qing dynasty, the Niohuru family of Manchu origin sinicized their family name, changing it to Lang (郎), which sounded like "wolf" (狼; also Láng) in Mandarin Chinese, since niohuru was derived from the Manchu word for "wolf".[4]

Notable people

  • Lang Jingshan, Chinese photographer
  • Lang Lang (born 1982), Chinese pianist
  • Lang Ping (born 1960), Chinese former volleyball player and coach
  • Lang Zheng (郎征; born 1986), Chinese footballer
  • Lang Shining, Chinese name of Giuseppe Castiglione, (1688–1766) Italian Jesuit brother
  • Lang Tzu-yun (郎祖筠; born 1965), Taiwanese actress
  • Lang Yongchun (郎永淳; born 1971), Chinese former news anchor best known for his work at China Central Television

See also

References

  1. ^ Pleco s.v.
  2. ^ 中国四百大姓, 袁义达, 邱家儒, Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013
  3. ^ a b The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland
  4. ^ Edward J. M. Rhoads (2001). Manchus & Han: ethnic relations and political power in late Qing and early republican China, 1861-1928 (reprint, illustrated ed.). University of Washington Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780295804125. and when the ancient and politically prominent Manchu lineage of Niohuru adopted the Han-style surname Lang, he ridiculed them for having "forgotten their roots." (The Niohuru, whose name was derived from niohe, Manchu for wolf," had chosen Lang as their surname because it was a homophone for the Chinese word for "wolf.")
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