Mài is a

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

. It is commonly

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

as Mak in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, based on the

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

pronunciation, though other transliterations exist. "麥" is the standard character in both Traditional and Simplified scripts but 麦 is also a variant seen in both. The meaning of the Chinese character is either

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

. According to a 2013 study, 麦 was the 200th most common surname, shared by 550,000 people or 0.041% of China's population, with

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

being the province with the most. The Mai 買 surname is only found among Siraya Taiwan Plains Aboriginals in Taiwan and among Hui people in mainland China.

Notable people

* Alan Mak, Hong Kong director * Alan Mak, British politician * Alice Mak, the

Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs is the head of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong, which is responsible for local issues, and the provision of community and youth services. List of office holders Registra ...

* Alice Mak, Chinese cartoonist and creator of ''McMug''/''McDull'' *

Juno Mak Juno Mak (; born 18 March 1984) is a Hong Kong singer, record producer, actor, and director. He made his musical debut in 2002 with the EP ''On the Road.'' His albums have won Best Record three times at the Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentat ...

, Hong Kong singer *

Karl Maka Karl Maka (born 29 February 1944) is a Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is t ...

, (Chinese: 麥嘉) Hong Kong film producer, director, actor, and presenter. *

Bow-sim Mark Bow-sim Mark (born 1942) is a Chinese martial arts grandmaster who lives in Newton, Massachusetts, US. She is the mother of martial arts film star, Donnie Yen. Training Mark was born in Guangzhou, Republic of China in 1942. She began studying ...

, (Chinese: 麥寶嬋) martial arts grandmaster, credited with popularizing the term “Wushu” outside of China, mother of martial arts film star Donnie Yen. *

Him Mark Lai Him Mark Lai (; November 1, 1925 – May 21, 2009) was an American historian and writer. He contributed to Chinese American historiography. Lai "rescued, collected, catalogued, preserved and shared" historical sources in Chinese and English. He ...

, (Chinese: 麥禮謙) American historian and writer *

Teresa Mak Teresa Mak Ka-kei (麥家琪) is a Hong Kong actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the thea ...

, Hong Kong actress, known for the role of Fang Yi ( 方怡) in '' The Duke of Mount Deer'' *

Dennis Mak Boy'z is a Hong Kong Cantopop duo produced by EEG consisting of members Kenny Kwan and Steven Cheung. Kwan left the group in 2005, and was replaced with Dennis Mak in 2005. In 2006, William Chan joined the group, forming the trio Sun Boy'z. ...

, Hong Kong singer *

Tak Wah Mak Tak Wah Mak, (; born October 4, 1946, in China) is a Canadian medical researcher, geneticist, oncologist, and biochemist. He first became widely known for his discovery of the T-cell receptor in 1983 and pioneering work in the genetics of immu ...

, Chinese Canadian award-winning researcher known for discovery of the T-cell receptor *

Evergreen Mak Cheung-ching Evergreen Mak Cheung-ching (, born 18 December 1968), better known as Makbau (麥包), is a Hong Kong actor. He had been an actor with TVB for more than 30 years. Early life Mak was born in Shunde District, Foshan, China, and his ancestral ho ...

, Hong Kong

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...

actor * Mai Yinghao (born Panyu District, Guangdong), Chinese archaeologist * Prince Mak, singer *

Mak Chai-kwong Mak Chai-kwong GBS, JP (, born 16 June 1950) is a Hong Kong civil engineer and civil servant. He served as Permanent Secretary for Development (Works) from 2006 to 2010. In 2012, he was appointed as Secretary for Development in the inaugural cab ...

, Former

Secretary for Development The Secretary for Development of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for planning, land development and public works related development policy in Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and orga ...

Notable people

See also