Chen is a common Chinese-language surname and one of the most common surnames in Asia. It is the most common surname in Taiwan (2010) and Singapore (2000). Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Macau, and Hong Kong. It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the ancestral hometown of many overseas Hoklo. Chen was listed 10th in the Hundred Family Surnames poem, in the verse 馮陳褚衛 (Féng Chén Chǔ Wèi). In Cantonese, it is usually romanized as Chan (e.g., Jackie Chan), most widely used by those from Hong Kong, and also found in Macau and Singapore. It is also sometimes spelled Chun. The spelling Tan usually comes from Southern Min dialects (e.g., Hokkien), while some Teochew dialect speakers use the spelling Tang. In Hakka and Taishanese, the name is spelled Chin. Spellings based on Wu include Zen and Tchen. There are many spellings based on its Hainanese pronunciations, including Dan, Seng, and Sin. In Vietnam, this surname is written as Trần (in Quốc Ngữ) and is 2nd most common. In Thailand, this surname is the most common surname of Thai Chinese and is often pronounced according to Teochew dialect as Tang. In Cambodia, this surname is transliterated as Taing. In Japanese, the surname is transliterated Chin (ちん). In Korean it is transliterated Jin or Chin (진). In Indonesia, many Chinese Indonesians who originally had this surname adopted the Indonesian surname Chandra, Hartanto, and other surnames with the prefix Tan. Chen is 5th most common surname in mainland China, but 4th most common in the world due to the larger overseas population. With all its various spellings and pronunciations, there are around 80–100 million people surnamed 陳/陈 worldwide. The surname Cheng (程) is sometimes romanized as Chen (e.g., John S. Chen). Another less common Chinese surname 諶/谌 (Shen) can also be romanized as Chen.

Character

As well as being a surname, the Chinese character / can also mean 'to describe' or 'ancient'. It is a combination of the radical 阝 and the phonetic component 東/东.

History

Chen descends from the legendary sage king Emperor Shun from around 2200 BC via the surname Gui. A millennium after Emperor Shun, when King Wu of Zhou established the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 BC), he enfeoffed his son-in-law Gui Man, also known as Duke Hu of Chen or Chen Hugong (陈胡公). Chen Hugong, a descendant of Emperor Shun, found the State of Chen in modern Huaiyang County, Henan Province. In 479 BC, Chen was absorbed by Chu and became the Chu capital. The people of Chen adopted the name of their former state as their surname. At the end of the Qin dynasty, Chen Sheng initiated the Chen Sheng Wu Guang uprising that overthrew the Qin and paved the way for the Han dynasty, one of China's golden ages. During the Northern and Southern dynasties period (420–589), Chen Baxian established the Chen dynasty (557–589), the fourth and the last of the Southern dynasties, which was eventually absorbed by the Sui dynasty. During this period, the nomadic Xianbei people had systematically assimilated into China's agrarian culture and adopted Han Chinese surnames under the state directives of Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. The Xianbei subjects whose surname of "侯莫陳" (Hóumòchén) were converted to "陳" (Chen). Some descendants of Chen migrated to Vietnam (Dai Viet) and established the Trần dynasty, a golden age in Vietnam. Their original home was Fujian, and they migrated under Trần Kinh (陳京 Chén Jīng). Trần Thái Tông (陈太宗 Chen Taizong) became the founding emperor of the Tran dynasty, and his descendants would rule Vietnam for more than a century, expanding Vietnam's territory and promoting developments in language, chu nom, culture, and art. Certain members of the clan could still speak Chinese, like when a Yuan dynasty envoy had a meeting with the Chinese-speaking Tran Prince Trần Quốc Tuấn in 1282. During the Yuan–Ming transition, Chen Youliang founded the Chen Han dynasty, which helped overthrow Yuan rule and pave the way for the Ming dynasty. In the 20th century, Chen Duxiu cofounded the Chinese Communist Party and became its first general secretary, but was eventually expelled from the party and condemned by Mao due to advocating Trotskyism.

Distribution

Chen is the 5th most common surname in mainland China (around 70 million) and 4th most common in the world (around 80–100 million, including all its variants like Chan, Tan, Tran). A 2013 study found that it was the 5th most common surname, shared by 61,300,000 people or 4.610% of the population, with the province with the most being Guangdong. According to 2018 census, it was 5th most common in mainland China at around 63 million, but 4th most common surname in the world with 80–100 million people. It is the most common Chinese surname overseas. In 2019 Chen was again the fifth most common surname in mainland China. It is the most common surname in the southern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. Hong Kong has around 700,000 using the spelling "Chan" and 61,000 using the spelling "Chen", so in total around 700,000–800,000 Chen (陈), which ranks first in Hong Kong. In Thailand, last names are more unique therefore the Chinese last name Chen ranks 2nd with 88,000 and with an incidence of 1 to 900. There are 187,000 Chens in the US, as of 2014. It is the 30th most common last name in California where there are 70,000. 11,300 in Texas, 6,800 Illinois, 5,900 Maryland. New Jersey was undercounted with data missing; New York had 5,400. In Canada there are 32,900 Chens; 16,600 Ontario and 11,000 British Columbia. Chen is usually one of the top 5 common Asian last names and top 3 most common Chinese in the US.

Other pronunciations and transliteration

Notable people surnamed 陳 / 陈

This list includes Chen, Chan, Chin, Tran, Tan, Tang and other common spellings of 陈

Historical figures

Dynasties and states

Modern figures

Note: this list is primarily ordered by spelling of the surname, secondarily ordered by given name commonly used in English, regardless of name order.

Arts and Entertainment

Politicians, military and civil servants

Military

Business and entrepreneurs

Sports

Academics and Doctors

Criminals

Miscellaneous

Other

Clan temples and associations

Fictional