Chen

Chen / Chan
Family name
Chén in traditional Chinese
Pronunciation	Chén (Mandarin) Chan (Cantonese) Tan (Min Nan) Chin (Hakka, Toisan) Trần (Vietnamese)
Meaning	after a region in Henan

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Chén or Chan (simplified Chinese: 陈; traditional Chinese: 陳; pinyin: Chén; Wade–Giles: Ch'en) is one of the most common East Asian family names. It ranks as the 5th most common surname in China, as of 2007^[1] and the most common surname in Singapore (2000)^[2] and Taiwan (2010).^[3] Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hong Kong (spelt Chan in Hong Kong and Macau).^{[citation needed]} It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the ancestral hometown of many overseas Hoklo.^[4] Chen (חֵן) is also a Hebrew word meaning "loveliness" and "grace", which is the 30th-most-common surname in Israel.^[5]

It is usually romanised as Chan in Cantonese (most widely used by those from Hong Kong), and sometimes as Chun. In Min (including dialects of Chaozhou (Teochow), Hainan, Fujian, and Taiwan), the name is pronounced Tan. In Hakka and Toisan, the name is spelled and pronounced as Chin. Some other Romanisations include Zen (from Wu), Ding and Chern. Chen can be variously spelt Chan, Chin or Tan in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

The Korean surname 진 (Jin) would be the Korean equivalent of the surname Chen.

In Vietnam, this surname is written in Quốc Ngữ as Trần, and is the second most popular Vietnamese surname, accounting for 11% of the population,^[6] after the surname Nguyễn (38.4%).

History

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The Chen Clan Academy in Guangzhou, China

The initial surname Chen was from Gui (媯, Gūi), which was an ancient East Asia surname of descendants of Emperor Shun, who was one of the Three August Ones and Five Emperors. When King Wu of Zhou established the Zhou Dynasty, he gave the Land of Chen to Shun's descendants to establish their own state. To show his respect for Emperor Shun, the new state, which was also named Chen, was one of the Three Guest States of Zhou (Chinese: 三恪; pinyin: Sān Kè), which meant this nation was not a subordinate, but a guest of Zhou. However, the Chen state was occupied by Chu after the 10th century BC. Since then, the people of this state began to use Chen as their surname.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589), Chen Baxian established the Chen Dynasty (557-589), the fourth and the last of the Southern dynasties in East Asia, which was eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty.

Other pronunciations

• Sen, Chen, used in Limbu, Limbuwan
• Chen, used in Mandarin
• Chan, used in Cantonese
• Chin, used in Taishanese, Hakka and Japanese
• Jin, used in Korean
• Son, used in Hainanese
• Tan, used in Teochew in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Min Nan (including Taiwanese), and Hainanese
• Tang, used in Teochew
• Ting or Ding, used in Fuzhou
• Trần, used in Vietnamese
• Zen, used in Shanghainese

Notable people

• Rulers of the Chen Dynasty

• Agnes Chan, Hong Kong singer, also famous in Japan
• Arthur Chin, fighter ace
• Bruce Chen, Panamanian Major League player
• Christine Chen, former Emmy award winning journalist and CEO of Chen Communications
• Cheer Chen, Taiwanese singer
• Dan Chan, Magician to media moguls and billionaires including Google founders
• Danny Chan, Hong Kong actor, singer and composer
• Chen Duxiu, Communist Party of China founder
• Edison Chen, Canadian born Hong Kong singer
• Eason Chan, Hong Kong actor and singer
• Edward Chen, South African Engineer
• Fala Chen, Hong Kong actress and model
• Frankie Chan, nephew of Brian Leung
• Chen Gang (陈刚) (1906–1967), member of Chinese Communist Party security services
• Chen Guangcheng, Chinese dissident
• H. T. Chen, American dancer and choreographer
• Chen Hong, Chinese badminton player
• Jackie Chan, Hong Kong actor; his parents Charles and Lee-Lee Chan and son Jaycee Chan
• Jason Chan (disambiguation), several people
• Jiebing Chen, erhu player
• Chen Jingrun, mathematician
• Joan Chen Chong, Chinese-American actress and film director
• Jordan Chan, Hong Kong actor and singer
• Johnny Chan, poker player
• Joyce Chen, Chinese-American chef and restaurateur
• Julie Chen, American television personality and news anchor
• Chen Kaige, fifth-generation Chinese filmmaker
• Kelly Chen Wai-Lam, Hong Kong actress and singer
• Chen Kenichi, the only "Iron Chef Chinese" in the syndicated TV program Iron Chef
• Chen Kenmin, father of the above and a prominent Chinese chef in Japan
• Chen Lin, naval general of Ming Dynasty. Commander-in-chief of the Battle of Noryang
• Chen Lu, Figure Ice Skater
• Ming W. Chin, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
• Monica Chan )陳法蓉, Hong Kong actress and winner of Miss Hong Kong 1989
• Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor and model
• Patrick Chan, Canadian figure skater
• Chin Peng, long-time leader of the now-disbanded Malayan Communist Party
• Peter Chan, the only "Chan" listed on the Vietnam War Memorial. He served on the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Oriskany.
• Peter P. Chen, a computer scientist, inventor of the Entity-Relationship Model
• Priscilla Chan, Hong Kong singer
• Robert Chen, violinist, Concertmaster of Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Chen Shaoguo, Chinese race walker
• Chen Shi-zheng, Chinese opera performer
• Chen Shui-bian, first non-KMT President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Sisy Chen, Taiwanese politician
• Steve Chen, supercomputer designer
• Steve Chen, co-founder, YouTube
• Tan Tin Boon (Chan Tin-Mun), Singaporean actor
• Chen Tsyr-shiou, Chairman of Taiwan Province
• Tze-Chung Chen, Taiwanese professional golfer
• Vincy Chan, Cantopop singer from Hong Kong
• Vincent "Randy" Chin, founder of VP Records
• Wing-tsit Chan, a Chinese scholar
• Chen Wei (dissident), a Chinese dissident and human rights activist
• Chen Xiaoxu, the most famous Lin Daiyu actress
• Chen Yi, Communist Party of China military commander
• Chen Yi, composer
• Chen Yi, Chief executive of Taiwan Province
• Chen Yonglin, Chinese communist diplomat who defected to Australia
• Chen Yu (badminton), Chinese badminton player
• Chen Yuanyuan, concubine of Wu Sangui
• Chen Zhi, classical guitarist
• Chen Zhu, Minister of Health of the Chinese government
• Shiing-Shen Chern, mathematician
• Jin Sun-Yu, South Korean short-track speed skater
• Tan Boon Teik (陈文德), former Attorney-General of Singapore
• Tan Kah Kee, prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore and China.
• Tony Tan Keng Yam, the current President of Singapore, former Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence of Singapore
• Tan Cheng Bock, former Member of Parliament for Ayer Rajah SMC
• Tan Cheng Lock, Malaysian Chinese businessman and the founder of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA). An important figure during the independence of Malaya.
• Lucio Tan, Filipino-Chinese businessman. Owner of flag carrier, Philippine Airlines.

Fictional characters with surname Chen

• Charlie Chan, a fictional detective
• Chen, a fictional character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf
• Chan Ho-nam, the fictitious Hong Kong triad boss in the Young and Dangerous film series
• Chen Jialuo, protagonist of the Wuxia novel The Book and the Sword
• Simon Chen / Tan Peng Liang, a character in Ca Bau Kan, a roman by Remy Sylado
• Detective Grace Chen, a central character in Martial Law
• Chen, the Holy Knight, a character in the Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos custom map Dota.
• Chen Jin, Chinese badminton player
• Chen Stormstout, a hero in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
• Chen Zhen, a fictional Chinese martial artist and culture hero

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chen (surname)

• Chinese surname history: Chen
• CHEN - Chinese Surname Chen2 - Tan, Chan, Chin, Ting