Distribution of surnames

Surnames are not evenly distributed throughout China's geography. In northern China, Wang (王) is the most common surname, being shared by 9.9% of the population. Next are Li (李), Zhang (张) and Liu (刘). In the south, Chen (陈) is the most common, being shared by 10.6% of the population. Next are Li (李), Huang (黄), Lin (林) and Zhang (张). Around the major crossing points of the Yangtze River, the most common surname is Li (李), taking up 7.7%, followed by Wang (王), Zhang (张), Chen (陈) and Liu (刘).

A 1987 study showed over 450 family names in common use in Beijing, but there were less than 300 family names in Fujian.

A study by geneticist Yuan Yida has found that certain names appear most commonly in each province of China, as seen at right.

The 55th most common family name "Xiao" (肖) appears to be very rare in Hong Kong. This is explained by the fact Hong Kong uses traditional Chinese characters not simplified Chinese characters. Originally, the surname 蕭 (Xiao) was rather common while the surname 肖 (Xiao) was extremely rare, if not non-existent (it is mentioned only sporadically in historical texts). The first round of simplification in 1956 simplified 蕭 into 萧, keeping 蕭/萧 and 肖 distinct. However the second-round in 1977, which has long been abolished, merged 萧 and 肖 into 肖. Despite the retraction of the second round, some people have kept 肖 as their surname, so that there are now two separate surnames, 萧 and 肖.

Chen (trad 陳, simp 陈) is perhaps the most common last name in Hong Kong and Macau (romanized as Chan) and is also common in Taiwan (romanized as Chen). Fang (方), which is only the 47th most common overall, is much more common in San Francisco's Chinatown in the United States. As with the concentration of family names, this can also be explained statistically, as a person with an uncommon name could move to an unsettled area and leave this family name to large numbers of people.

After the Song Dynasty, surname distributions in China largely stabilised. The Kwong family for example, stabilized in Guangdong during the revolts of the Song Dynasty and migrated from the capital in the north. Villages were often made up of individuals with the same surname, often with a common male ancestor. They usually intermarried with nearby villages, creating clusters of individuals with similar genetic background.

Province - Surnames

Guangdong - Liang (梁), Luo (罗), Kwong (鄺)

Guangxi - Liang (梁), Lu (陆)

Fujian - Zheng (郑)

Anhui - Wang (汪)

Jiangsu - Xu (徐), Zhu (朱)

Zhejiang - Mao (毛),Shen (沈)

Jiangxi - Hu (胡), Liao (廖);

Hubei - Hu (胡)

Hunan - Tan (谭);

Sichuan - He (何), Deng (邓)

Guizhou - Wu (吴)

Yunnan - Yang (杨)

Henan - Cheng (程)

Gansu - Gao (高)

Ningxia - Wan (万)

Shaanxi - Xue (薛)

Qinghai - Bao (鲍)

Xinjiang - Ma (马)

Shandong - Kong (孔)

Shanxi - Dong (董) and Guo (郭)

Inner - Mongolia Pan (潘)

Northeast China - Yu (于)