Frequency: (258)
(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 苗: from the name of an area called Miao. During the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BC) this area was granted to the son of a senior adviser of the state of Chu. The character for Miao also denotes the Miao ethnic group in China, but the surname does not have a Miao origin.
2. Chinese 缪: from a title posthumously bestowed upon the duke of Miao from the state of Qin during the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BC).
GIVEN NAMES: Chinese 43%. Wei (3), Lan (2), Li (2), Ping (2), Tao (2), Xue (2), Chang, Chun Mei, Dong Sheng, Feng Ying, Gang, Guo Jun, Hai, Haiping, Han Yong, Min, Xuan, Yen, You.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
