Ming (surname)

Ming is the Mandarin pinyin and Wade–Giles romanization of the Chinese surname written 明 in Chinese character. Ming is listed 111th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.^[1] It is not among the 300 most common surnames in China, according to a 2008 study.^[2] However, according to a 2013 study it was found to be the 249th most common, being shared by 340,000 people or .026% of the population, with the province with the most being Hubei.

Ming (明)

Pronunciation	Míng (Mandarin)
Language(s)	Chinese
Origin
Language(s)	Old Chinese
Meaning	"bright", "brilliance"
Other names
Derivative(s)	Myung/Myeong (Korean)

Unrelated to the Chinese surname, Ming is also a common surname in Switzerland, originating in the Canton of Obwalden.^[3][4]

Notable people

• Ming Chongyan (明崇俨; died 679), Tang dynasty official
• Ming Yuzhen (1331–1366), Yuan dynasty rebel leader, self-proclaimed Emperor of Xia
• Ming Sheng (明升; 1356–1391), son of Ming Yuzhen, exiled to Korea after Xia was conquered by the Ming dynasty
• Ming Ji (1923–2012), Taiwanese general and filmmaker
• Ming Jincheng (明金城), Taiwanese actor and director
• Ming Kai, better known as Clearlove, Chinese professional League of Legends player
• Ming Tian (born 1995), Chinese professional footballer

See also

• Ming (given name)
• Emperor Ming, multiple persons
• Hoyt Ming (1902–1985), American fiddler from Mississippi
• William Robert Ming, American civil rights lawyer

References

1. "百家姓" [Hundred Family Surnames] (in Chinese). Guoxue. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
2. "中国最新300大姓排名（2008）" [300 most common surnames in China (2008)] (in Chinese). Taiwan.cn. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
3. Venetz, Adrian. "AKTUELL DER NACHNAME Diese Woche: Ming". Aktuell Informationsblatt Obwalden. Aktuell Obwalden AG. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
4. Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz = Répertoire des noms de famille suisses = Repertorio dei nomi di famiglia svizzeri = Cudesch dals nums da famiglia da la Svizra = Register of Swiss surnames (3. verb. und korrigierte Aufl. 1989 ed.). Zürich: Schulthess. 1989. ISBN 3-7255-2692-3.