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Pronunciation |
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Language(s) | Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien) |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Old Chinese |
Word/name | |
Derivation | Gui (ancestral surname) |
Other names | |
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Chen ([ʈʂʰə̌n] ⓘ) is a common Chinese-language surname and one of the most common surnames in Asia. It is the most common surname in Taiwan (2010)[1] and Singapore (2000).[2] 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.[3]
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.[4][5]
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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]