Yīn (trad. , simp. 阴) is a Chinese surname. It is Romanized as Im in Min Nan and Yam in Cantonese.[2] According to a 2013 study, it was the 390th most common name in China; it was shared by 39,000 people, or 0.0067% of the population, being most popular in Shanxi.[3] It is the 283rd name in the Hundred Family Surnames poem.[4][5]

Yīn
Stroke order of 阴, the Simplified form of the Yīn character.[1]
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Literal meaningdarkness (yin)
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYīn
Wade–GilesYin1
IPA[ín]
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingJam1
Southern Min
Hokkien POJIm
Middle Chinese
Middle Chineseˑiəm
Old Chinese
Zhengzhang/*qrɯm/

It should not be confused with the much more popular surname Yīn (殷), whose name comes from the Shang capital of Yin.

Origins

edit

The surname Yin is claimed to derive from one of:

  • from the personal name of Yin Jing (陰兢), an official in the late Shang dynasty (late 2nd millennium BC)
  • from the placename Yin (陰), a fief located in modern Henan during the Western Zhou (11th–8th centuries BC)
  • from Yin Dafu (陰大夫 "Yin Counsellor"), a title given to Guan Xiu, a descendant of philosopher Guan Zhong[6]

Notable people

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "阴 meaning - Chinese-English Dictionary". www.omgchinese.com.
  2. ^ "My China Roots". www.mychinaroots.com.
  3. ^ Yuan Yida (袁义达), Qiu Jiaru, 邱家儒. 中国四百大姓. Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013
  4. ^ K. S. Tom. [1989] (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1285-9.
  5. ^ "Yin Surname Meaning & Yin Family History at Ancestry.com®". www.ancestry.com.
  6. ^ "Last name YIN: origin and meaning". Geneanet.