Frequency: (608)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Chinese 臧: from an area named Zang in the state of Lu, probably during the Zhou dynasty (1122-221 BC). Descendants of the ruling clan of this area eventually adopted the place name Zang as their surname.
2. South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a blacksmith, from Middle High German zange ‘pliers’, German Zange.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
