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Chinese surname From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wèi (simplified Chinese: 卫; traditional Chinese: 衛; pinyin: Wèi) is a Chinese surname. It means ‘defend, guard’ and is written Wai in Cantonese. The character 衞 is traditionally preferred although 衛 is now more prevalent, with 卫 being the simplified form in Mainland China. In 2013 it was found to be the 214th most common surname, shared by 480,000 people or 0.036% of the population, with the province with the most being Shanxi.[1]
During the Zhou dynasty, Wey (衛) ruler Wei Yang (衛鞅)'s family name was Gongsun (公孫), not Wéi family (衛).[citation needed] During the Han dynasty, Wei Man (衛滿) was baron of Yan (state). During the Northern Wei (北魏), Xiaowen family got the surname Wei with state name. It is 12th on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.
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