Song is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

transliteration of the

Chinese family name Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

宋. It is transliterated as Sung in Wade-Giles, and Soong is also a common transliteration. In addition to being a common surname, it is also the name of a Chinese dynasty, the ''

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

'', written with the same character. In 2019 it was the 24th most common surname in Mainland China.

Historical origin

The first written record of the character 宋 was found on the oracle bones of the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

, and

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

is the formal inherited state of the dynasty. From Yinxu heritage population bore genetic testing, it has resemblance in

mtDNA haplogroup In human genetics, a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup is a haplogroup defined by differences in human mitochondrial DNA. Haplogroups are used to represent the major branch points on the mitochondrial phylogenetic tree. Understanding the evol ...

to the northern

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

consisted of the northern Han 72.1%,

Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...

18% and

Altaic Altaic (; also called Transeurasian) is a controversial proposed language family that would include the Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic language families and possibly also the Japonic and Koreanic languages. Speakers of these languages are ...

populations 9.9%, which related to surname Zi.

State of Song

In the written records of Chinese history, the first time the character Song was used as a surname appeared in the early stage of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

. One of the children of the last emperor of

, Weizi Qi (微子启), was a duke owned state named Song, the descent of his ancestor Xie (契), derived from surname Zi (子). Xie was born by

Jiandi Jiandi (), also with variants 簡易/简易 and 簡逷/简逷, is an important figure in Chinese history and Chinese mythology. She was the second wife of Emperor Ku, who was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. Jiandi was the mother of Xie (偰), ...

from swallow of black bird egg, who came from Yousong (有娀) the legendary state. The

State of Song Song (; Old Chinese: *') was a state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China, with its capital at Shangqiu. The state was founded soon after King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1046 BC. It was conquered ...

, Song's personal dominion, became part of the Zhou dynasty after the fall of the

, inherited the dynasty formally in 11th century BC. Citizens of the former State of Song commemorate to the overthrow of their state in 286 BC by the

State of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded sh ...

owned by

Tian ''Tiān'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as '' Shàngdì'' (, "Lor ...

, whom began to use the character Song as their surname, which is the authentic branch mainly.

Song dynasty

* Emperor Huizong of Song's officer changed to name Song, using dynasty name as family name, who is imperial clan branch of

. * Charlie Soong was Changed his family name from

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

to Soon, then Soong, which was on of accepted English spellings of the dynasty name

, the dynasty from the tenth to the thirteenth century in China.

Others

*A branch of Miao people located in

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...

announced that they are descendants of

historically, called Songjia (宋家), known as

Chiefdom of Shuidong Chiefdom of Shuidong (), ruled by the Song clan, was an autonomous ''Tusi'' chiefdom established by Song Jingyang () during the Song dynasty. After he conquered the Manzhou Prefecture (蠻州, centred on modern Kaiyang County) from the Yi people, ...

afterwards, who had a sub-branch merged into

Luodian Kingdom Luodian County () is a county under the administration of Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in the south of Guizhou province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. The climate in the area is humid subtropical, with strong monsoon inf ...

as Yi-speaking people. *Otherwise, a clan of Xiqiang (西羌) people was submitted to Northern Wei dynasty during

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

period in the year AD 518, using that surname. Previously, there was a person called Song Jian (宋建) from Fuhan, who was one of the leaders of Liang Province rebellion belonged to Qiang tribes. *Moreover, the surname contains a branch clan derived from an ancestor named '' Temuer'' or ''

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

'' (帖木儿) with grant of seal, used the character since

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

dynasty. And there is another family clan origin located in Pingyang called ''Dashila'' (答失剌), who used this character in the same dynasty.

Blood type distribution

Population of surname Song's

ABO blood type The ABO blood group system is used to denote the presence of one, both, or neither of the A and B antigens on erythrocytes. For human blood transfusions, it is the most important of the 43 different blood type (or group) classification syste ...

distribution is O blood type 31.3%, B blood type 30.6%, A blood type 28.4% and AB blood type 9.7%.

Variations

A less common Chinese family name ( 崇

Chóng) can also be transliterated to Soong in some Chinese dialects. The surname is also used in Korea. In Vietnam, the surname is pronounced as Tống.

Notable people

Historical figures

* Song Wuji,

fangshi ''Fangshi'' () were Chinese technical specialists who flourished from the third century BCE to the fifth century CE. English translations of ''fangshi'' include alchemist, astrologer, diviner, exorcist, geomancer, doctor, magician, monk, myst ...

of Fangxian

Tao ''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...

State of Yan Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu ...

Song Yu Song Yu (; 298–263 BC) was a Chinese poet from the late Warring States period, and is known as the traditional author of a number of poems in the ''Verses of Chu (Chu ci'' 楚辭'')''. Among the ''Verses of Chu'' poems usually attributed to ...

poet * Song Yi (died 207 BC), minister of Chu *

Consort Song A consort song was a characteristic English song form of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, for solo voice or voices accompanied by a group of instruments, most commonly viols. Although usually in five parts, some early examples of four-par ...

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

empress * Empress Song (Han dynasty),

empress * Song Qian, Eastern Wu military officer in the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

era * Song Hun, d. 361, regent of the Chinese state Former Liang during the Sixteen Kingdoms era * Song Bian, Northern Wei official, during

period * Song Zhiwen, b. 656, early Tang dynasty poet * Song Jing, b. 663, Tang dynasty chancellor * Song Shenxi, d. 833, Tang dynasty chancellor * Li Maozhen, Song Wentong, b. 856, Tang dynasty warlord, changed surname to Li (surname), Li since 886 * Song Jingyang, b.911, local chief administrative officer became Tusi chieftain of

* Song Shou, b. 991,

assistant administer of political affairs * Song Di (Fugu), Song Di, b. ca. 1015, Song dynasty scholar-official and artist * Song Ci, b. 1186,

writer of Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified * Song Zhun,

scholar * Song Lian, b. 1310, Ming dynasty historian * Song Maojin, b. 1368, Ming dynasty landscape painter * Song Xu, b. 1525, Ming dynasty landscape painter * Song Maocheng, b. 1570, Ming dynasty writer, changed surname from Zhao (surname), Zhao family clan * Song Yingxing, b. 1587, Ming dynasty scientist and encyclopedist * Song Wan (poet), Song Wan, b. 1614, Qing dynasty Chinese poet and government official

Modern figures

* Song Yuren, b. 1857, early period positive reformist philosopher * Charlie Soong, b. 1863, missionary and businessman, several of whose children were highly influential in early 20th century China: ** children include (see, chronologically, below): Soong sisters (Soong Ai-ling, Soong Ching-ling and Soong Mei-ling), and their brother T. V. Soong * Sir Song Ong Siang, b. 1871, Singaporean lawyer and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire * Song Shijie, b. 1873, Chinese revolutionary * Song Jiaoren, b. 1882, President of the Kuomintang * Song Zheyuan, b. 1885, Kuomintang general * Soong Ai-ling, b. 1890, wife of H. H. Kung * Soong Ching-ling, b. 1893, wife of Sun Yat Sen and Vice President of the People's Republic of China, Vice chairman of the People's Republic of China * T. V. Soong, b. 1894, businessman and Premier of the Republic of China * Soong Mei-ling, b. 1897, wife of Chiang Kai-shek * Song Shi-Lun, b. 1899, PLA general * Song Renqiong, b. 1909, PLA general * Song Ping, b. 1917, Communist Party official * Song Xi, b. 1920, former President of the Chinese Culture University * Song Jian, b. 1931, aerospace engineer, demographer, and politician * James Soong, b. 1942, Republic of China governor * Song Defu, b. 1946, Communist Party politician * Sung, Chi-li, b. 1948, Taiwanese religious leader * Song Tao (diplomat), Song Tao, b. 1955, diplomat and politician * Song Xiaobo, b. 1958, female basketball player and coach * Song Dandan, b. 1961, actress * Song Lianyong, b. 1965, football player from Hong Kong * Song Tao (basketball), Song Tao, b. 1965, basketball player * Song Zuying, b. 1966, ethnic Miao people, Miao Chinese singer * Song Ligang, b. 1967, Chinese basketball player * Song Weiping, b. 1967, billionaire * Song Zude, b. 1968, entertainment manager * Anna Canzano, Anna Song, b. 1976, Taiwanese American journalist * Song Aimin, b. 1978, discus thrower * Devon Song, b. 1980, Taiwanese singer-songwriter * Song Lun, b. 1981, figure skater * Song Zhenyu, b. 1981, football player * Song Hongjuan, b. 1984, Chinese race walker * Sarah Song, b. 1985, Miss Chinese International 2007 * Victoria Song, Song Qian b. 1987, leader of the female South Korean group f(x) (band), f(x) * Song Yuqi, b. 1999, dancer, singer, member of the South Korean group (G)I-DLE * Song Dan (javelin thrower), Song Dan, b. 1990, female Chinese javelin thrower * Song Nan, b. 1990, figure skater * Sung Chia-Hao, b. 1992, Taiwanese baseball pitcher who plays with Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles * Andong Song, Song Andong, b. 1997, first Beijing, Chinese-born ice hockey player ever drafted by an National Hockey League, NHL New York Islanders, pro team 2015 NHL Entry Draft#Round six, (2015) * Sung Yu-hsieh, b.1956, former Minister of Research, Development and Evaluation Commission of the Republic of China * Jeannette Song, Chinese and American management scientist * Sung Nien-yu, Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and record producer * Song Weilong (actor), Song Weilong, b. 1999, Chinese actor and model * Song Yaxuan, b. 2004, Chinese singer and actor

Fictional characters

* Song Jiang, major character in 14th century novel ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature * Song Qing (Water Margin), Song Qing younger brother of Song Jiang * Song Wan (Water Margin), Song Wan, fictional character in the Water Margin * Song Yiren, character featured within the famed Ming dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods * Song Yuanqiao, b. 1295, character in novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong * Song Qingshu, son of Song Yuanqiao * Noonien Soong, The creator of the android Data in Star Trek * Arik Soong, great grandfather of Noonien Soong

References

{{surname Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames