Pān is the

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

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

romanization of the

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

n surname . It is listed 43rd in 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 res ...

classic text ''

Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dy ...

''. It is romanized as P'an in

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...

; Poon, Phoon, Pon, or Pun in

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

; Phua in

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

and Teochew. In 2019 it was the 36th most common surname in Mainland China. 潘 is also a common surname in Vietnam and Korea. It is romanized Phan in Vietnamese (not to be confused with

Phạm Phạm is the fourth most common Vietnamese family name from , which may be rendered as ''Fan'' in Chinese or ''Beom'' (범) in Korean. It is not to be confused with Phan (潘), another Vietnamese surname. Origin Phạm is the Sino-Vietname ...

) and Ban or Pan in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

Distribution

Pan 潘 is the 37th most common surname in mainland China and the 31st most common surname in Taiwan. None of the romanizations of Pan 潘 appeared among the 1000 most common surnames during the

2000 US census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

.
Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000
". 27 Sept 2011. Accessed 29 Mar 2012.

Origins

As with many Chinese surnames, the origins of the Pan are various and sometimes legendary. One origin was a clan name taken from a fief north of

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ning ...

granted to Ji Sun, a descendant of

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different historical perso ...

. Some members descend from Ji Sun himself, others from his vassals. Another source was a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets—realm, ti ...

of the ruling House of Mi () of the

State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...

during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

. Among these Pans, Pan Chong served as regent and advisor for the state of Chu. When

King Cheng of Chu King Cheng of Chu (, died 626 BC) was from 671 to 626 BC king of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Yun () to King Wen of Chu, and King Cheng was his posthumous title. In 672 BC Xiong Yun's o ...

decided to make a younger son the crown prince, Pan Chong aided the elder prince Shangchen instead. Shangchen forced King Cheng to commit suicide and ascended the throne as

King Mu of Chu King Mu of Chu (, died 614 BC) was from 625 to 614 BC king of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authoritie ...

. Pan Chong was made the "Royal Tutor". A third source in Taiwan was the adoption of the name by

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan (Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese Han Taiwanese, Taiwanese Han (), Taiwane ...

during their

Sinicization Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

. Members of the Plains tribes adopted the surname Pan as a modification of their designated status as

barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

(, ''Fan'').Shepherd, John R. ''Statecraft and Political Economy on the Taiwan Frontier, 1600–1800'', p. 384. Stanford Uni. Press (Stanford), 1993. One family in particular became members of the local gentry, complete with a lineage to

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its c ...

province.Hong Meiyuan. ''Taiwan Zhongbu Pingpu Zhu'' 'Plains Tribes of Central Taiwan'' pp. 310–15. Academia Historica (Taipei), 1997.

List of persons with the surname

Pan

* Pan Yue (born Zhongmou, modern Zhongmu County, Henan), poet * Pan Jixun, scholar official during the Ming Dynasty * Pan Hannian，Chinese Politician * Pan Men-an,

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

Pingtung County Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...

Pan Qingfu Pan Qingfu (), also known as Grandmaster Pan, was a Chinese martial artist. Grandmaster Pan's awards include a Hall of Fame award from the United International Kung Fu Federation, a Hall of Fame Award from the World Christian Martial Arts Federa ...

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

grandmaster * Rebecca Pan (Poon Dik-wah, Tik-Wa Poon), Chinese-Hong Kong actress and singer * Pan Shih-wei, Minister of

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...

(2014) *

Wen-Chung Pan Pan Wen-chung (; born 28 November 1962) is a Taiwanese educator and politician. He first served as Minister of Education from May 2016 to April 2018 and returned to the post in January 2019. Education Pan obtained his teaching certificate from ...

(Pan Wen-chung), Deputy Mayor of

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Ta ...

(2014–2016) *

Will Pan Wilber Pan (; born 6 August 1980), also known as Will Pan, is a Taiwanese-American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and entrepreneur. He started his career as a host of Channel V programs. In 2011, Pan was awarded Best Actor for ''Endless L ...

, American-born Taiwanese rapper and actor * Pan An-bang, Taiwanese singer * Pan Jinlian, fictional character from ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is ...

'' and '' The Plum in the Golden Vase'' * Pan Anzi, Chinese film director * Cindy Pan, Australian-born medical practitioner, best-selling author and media personality. * Consort Pan, imperial consort during the Chinese dynasty

Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern ...

. She was Emperor Wen's concubine * Pan Mei, Military general and statesman of imperial China's

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 res ...

. * Pan Mei-chen, Taiwanese singer * Princess Pan, first wife of the future Emperor Zhenzong of Song in imperial China's

* Pan Shu, Empress of the Eastern Wu, consort of

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...

Pan Wei-chih Pan Wei-chih (; born 13 July 1982) is a Taiwanese football (soccer) goalkeeper. He succeeded Yang Cheng-hsing to become Taiwan Power Company F.C.'s goalkeeper. He has been called up to the Chinese Taipei national football team. He is also the f ...

, Taiwanese goalkeeper * Pan Wen-Yuan, Chinese-American electrical engineer * Pan Xiaoting (潘晓婷), WPBA Rookie of the Year in 2006, female professional pool player *

Pan Zhang Pan Zhang (died 234), courtesy name Wengui, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Eastern Wu (founded by Sun Quan) during the Three Kingdoms ...

Eastern 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 w ...

General of the

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu o ...

under

Pan Fu Pan Fu () (22 November 1883 – 12 September 1936) was a Chinese politician and premier of the Republic of China from 1927 to 1928 during the Beiyang government. He was the acting Minister of Finance from 24 July 1920 to 11 August 1920, and again ...

, Chinese politician and Premier of the

during the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes Chinese postal romanization, spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China which sat in its capital Pek ...

Pua

* Tony Pua, Malaysian politician from the

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party ( abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Malaysia. As one of four component parties of th ...

(DAP) *

Pua Hak Chuan Annie Ee Yu Lian (余玉莲 Yú Yùlián; – 13 April 2015) was a Singaporean waitress who was cruelly abused for eight months before she died on 13 April 2015 at the age of 26. Ee's abusers were her 31-year-old childhood friend Tan Hui Zhen ( ...

, Singaporean criminal and murder suspect serving 14 years in jail

Phua

* Paul Phua, Malaysian Chinese businessman and poker player *

Denise Phua Denise Phua Lay Peng ()Denise Phua Lay Peng
, Candidate Profiles, People's Act ...

, Singaporean politician and disability rights activist *

Cynthia Phua Cynthia Phua Siok Gek ( zh, c=潘惜玉, p=Pān Xīyù, born 19 August 1958) is a Singaporean business executive and former politician. She was a Member of Parliament of Aljunied GRC for the Paya Lebar Ward from 25 October 2001 to 19 April 2011 ...

, Singaporean business executive and former politician * Willie Phua, Singaporean news cameraman * Phua Chu Kang, fictional protagonist of a popular Singaporean television sitcom *

Phua Bah Lee Phua Bah Lee (; 1932 – 26 December 2021) was a Singaporean politician who was a member of the People's Action Party. He was Member of Parliament for Tampines constituency from 1968 to 1988. During his political career spanning twenty years, ...

, Singaporean politician

Poon

* Albert Poon, race car driver from Hong Kong, notable wins include the 1964 Macau Grand Prix, the 1963 & 1965 Malaysia Grand Prix, the 1968 Selangor Grand Prix * Annie Poon, American animator * Christine Poon, American business executive *

Chung-Kwong Poon Professor Poon Chung-kwong, GBS, OBE, JP (, born 1940, Hong Kong) was the President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 1991 to 2008. He received his secondary education at St. Paul's Co-educational College. Trained as a chemist, he ...

(潘宗光), president of

Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is a public research university located in Hung Hom, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. The University is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Foun ...

Dickson Poon Sir Dickson Poon (; born 19 June 1956) is a Hong Kong businessman in the luxury goods retailing sector. Poon is the executive chairman of his Hong Kong based and listed company Dickson Concepts (DCIL), which owns companies including Harvey Nic ...

, owner of the

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...

chain of department stores * Poon Dik-wah, the Cantonese name of Rebecca Pan *

Joseph Poon Joseph S. Poon is William Barton Rogers Professor of Physics at the University of Virginia. His research applies physics principles to design, synthesize, and investigate amorphous metals, nano-structured materials, and intermetallic compounds. F ...

, physicist *

Poon Lim Poon Lim BEM (; 8 March 1918 – 4 January 1991) was a Chinese sailor who survived 133 days alone in the South Atlantic. Lim worked as second steward on , a British merchant ship that was sunk by , a German U-boat, on 23 November 194 ...

, Chinese sailor who survived 133 days alone in the South Atlantic * Kelly Poon, Singaporean Mandarin pop singer * Kevin Poon, a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur, fashion designer, event organizer, and blogger * Richard Poon, Chinese-Filipino singer-songwriter * Wena Poon, a Singaporean-American novelist *

William Poon William "Bill" Poon is a Chinese-British chef and restaurateur. He started his culinary career at a young age. A seventh generation Master Chef, he worked in Macau and his native Hong Kong where he also trained with a Swiss pâtissière. He came to ...

, founder of Poon's restaurants

Ban

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

(潘基文), South Korean diplomat, former

UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

Ban Hyo-jung Ban Hyo-jung (born Ban Man-hee on November 27, 1942) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1964 with a bit part in Shin Sang-ok's film ''Rice'', and went on to a prolific career in television drama In film and televisio ...

(潘曉靜), South Korean actress

Han

Keiko Han is a Japanese actress, Voice acting in Japan, voice actress and western astrologer. She sang the theme songs in productions such as ''Story of the Alps: My Annette'' and ''Kazoku Robinson Hyōryūki Fushigi na Shima no Furōne''. Han is a Fortune ...

, Japanese

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

* Megumi Han, Japanese voice actress * Han Zenki, professional Go

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

Phan

* Aimee Phan, writer/novelist *

Charles Phan Charles Phan (né Toàn Phan; born July 30, 1962) is an American chef, cookbook author, and restauranteur. He is the Executive Chef and founder of "The Slanted Door" restaurant in San Francisco, California and The Slanted Door Group of restaurants ...

, American chef, cookbook author, restaurateur * Dat Phan, comedian, "Last Comic Standing" winner * John Phan, professional poker player *

Joseph Phan Joseph Phan (born August 4, 2001) is a retired Canadian figure skater. At the 2018 World Junior Championships, he won a small bronze medal for his free skate and placed fourth overall. He is the 2017 JGP Croatia Cup silver medalist, the 2018 JG ...

, figure skater *

Michelle Phan Michelle Phan (born April 11, 1987) is an American beauty YouTuber. She is the founder and owner of the multimillion-dollar cosmetics line EM Cosmetics. Early life Michelle Phan was born on April 11, 1987, in Boston, Massachusetts. Both her p ...

, makeup artist * Nam Phan, professional mixed martial artist * Nicholas Phan, tenor * Phan Thanh Giản (潘清簡), Imperial mandarin, diplomat * Phan Đình Phùng (潘廷逢), 19th century revolutionary, anti-colonial military leader * Phan Bội Châu (潘佩珠), 20th century scholar, revolutionary, anti-colonial activist *

Phan Chu Trinh Phan Châu Trinh (Chữ Hán: 潘周楨, 9 September 1872 – 24 March 1926), courtesy name Tử Cán (梓幹), pen name Tây Hồ (西湖) or Hi Mã (希馬), was an early 20th-century Vietnamese nationalist. He sought to end France's colonial oc ...

(潘周楨), 20th century nationalist, writer, anti-colonial activist * Phan Khắc Sửu, President of South Vietnam *

Phan Huy Quát Phan Huy Quát (Hà Tĩnh Province, 12 June 1908 – 27 April 1979) was a South Vietnamese doctor and politician who served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam for four months in 1965. Early life Phan Huy Quát was born in Lộc Hà Dis ...

, Prime Minister of South Vietnam *

Lê Đức Thọ Lê Đức Thọ (; 14 October 1911 – 13 October 1990), born Phan Đình Khải in Nam Dinh Province, was a Vietnamese revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician. He was the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with ...

(born Phan Đình Khải), Vietnamese Communist revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician * Phan Văn Khải, former Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam * Phan Thị Kim Phúc, child subject of a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War *

Phan Bá Vành Phan Bá Vành ( 潘伯鑅, died March 12, 1827), a native of Minh Giám village (now Vũ Tiên, Thái Bình Province in coastal northern Vietnam), was the charismatic leader of one of Vietnam's largest peasant uprisings, the Phan Bá Vành's R ...

(潘伯鑅), charismatic leader, 19th century revolutionary *

Phan Khôi Phan Khôi (October 06, 1887 – January 16, 1959) was an intellectual leader who inspired a North Vietnamese variety of the Chinese Hundred Flowers Campaign, in which scholars were permitted to criticize the Communist regime, but for which he h ...

, author, intellectual leader * Phan Nhiên Hạo, poet and translator * Phan Nguyên Hồng, leading authority on the mangrove ecosystem in Asia * Phan Xích Long (潘赤龍), mystic and geomancer * Phan Quang Đán, politician

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pan (Surname) Chinese-language surnames Korean-language surnames Vietnamese-language surnames Surnames of Vietnamese origin Individual Chinese surnames