
The surname Pan is predominantly found in Asia, with 99% of people with the surname residing there. It is the 36th most common surname in China, where it is the Mandarin form of the surname 潘, meaning 'rice water' in ancient Chinese. The name is also common in Vietnam and Korea, where it is romanized as Phan and Ban or Pan, respectively. The frequency of the surname Pan has changed over time, with a notable expansion in the United States and England between 1880 and 2014.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Origin | The surname Pan is of East Asian origin. It is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the surname 潘 (Pān in pinyin). It is also listed as the 43rd surname in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames. |
| Other Romanizations | P'an (Wade-Giles), Poon, Phoon, Pon, or Pun (Cantonese), Phua (Hokkien and Teochew), Phan (Vietnamese), Ban or Pan (Korean) |
| Global Popularity | The surname Pan is the 70th most common surname globally, held by approximately 1 in 909 people. |
| Regional Popularity | Pan is predominantly found in Asia, with 99% of people with the surname residing there. In China, it was the 36th most common surname in 2019. It is also a common surname in Vietnam, Korea, and Taiwan. In the United States, the share of the population with the surname Pan expanded by 16,618% between 1880 and 2014, but none of the romanizations of Pan appeared among the 1000 most common surnames during the 2000 US census. |
| Religious Adherence | The religious adherence of those with the surname Pan is predominantly Orthodox in Russia (80%), Belarus (86%), Kazakhstan (79%), Ukraine (88%), and Uzbekistan (63%). |
| Political Affiliation (US) | In the United States, those with the surname Pan are 8.16% more likely to be registered Democrats than the national average, with 61.39% registered to vote for the Democratic Party. |
| Notable People with the Surname | Pan You (Chinese politician), Pan Shusi (Chinese general), Pan Yue (poet), Pan Jixun (Ming dynasty scholar official), Cindy Pan (Australian medical practitioner, author, and media personality), Consort Pan (imperial consort during the Chinese dynasty Liu Song), Pan Fu (Chinese politician and Premier of the Republic of China during the Beiyang government), Pan Mei (Military general and statesman of imperial China's Song dynasty). |
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What You'll Learn
- Pan is the 36th most common surname in China and is also common in Vietnam and Korea
- The name is derived from the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the East Asian surname 潘, listed in the Song dynasty's Hundred Family Surnames
- Taiwanese aborigines adopted the name during Sinicization, as did the Plains tribes, who modified their designated status as 'barbarians' (番, Fan)
- The Phan family of Vietnam was originally a noble family of the Tran dynasty
- The surname is predominantly found in Asia, with 99% of those named Pan residing in Asia, 97% in East Asia, and 97% in Sino-East Asia

Pan is the 36th most common surname in China and is also common in Vietnam and Korea
The Mandarin pinyin romanization of the East Asian surname 潘 (Pān) is Pan. It is the 36th most common surname in China, according to data from 2019. The surname is also common in Vietnam and Korea. In Vietnamese, it is romanized as Phan, and in Korean, it is romanized as Ban or Pan.
Pan is listed as the 43rd surname in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames. It has various origins, some of which are legendary. One origin is traced back to a fief north of Shaanxi granted to Ji Sun, a descendant of King Wen of Zhou. Another origin is associated with Pan Chong, a noble in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Pan Chong aided the elder prince Shangchen when King Cheng of Chu decided to make his younger son the crown prince. Shangchen, with the help of Pan Chong, forced King Cheng to commit suicide and ascended the throne as King Mu of Chu. Pan Chong was then made the "Royal Tutor".
The Phan family in Vietnam has a rich literary and academic tradition dating back to the 18th century. The Phan Huy family is a branch of the Phan family and has settled for 18 generations in the commune of Thach Chau, Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh province. In Taiwan, the surname Pan was adopted by Taiwanese aborigines during their Sinicization. Members of the Plains tribes adopted the surname as a modification of their designated status as barbarians (Fan).
Pan is also the Mandarin form of the surname 龐, meaning 'mammoth' or 'massive' in Chinese, and the surname 逄, meaning 'stop' in ancient Chinese. In some families, the surname originates from various minority ethnic groups in ancient western China.
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The name is derived from the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the East Asian surname 潘, listed in the Song dynasty's Hundred Family Surnames
The surname Pan is shared by many people around the world, especially in China and Taiwan, where it is the 37th and 31st most common surname, respectively. The name is derived from the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the East Asian surname 潘, which is listed 43rd in the classic Chinese text, the Hundred Family Surnames, compiled during the Song dynasty (960–1279). The Hundred Family Surnames, also known as Bai Jia Xing, lists 504 surnames, 444 of which are single-character surnames, and 60 are double-character surnames. About 800 names have been derived from the original ones listed in the text.
The surname Pan has various origins, some of which are legendary. One legend states that the name was taken from a fief north of Shaanxi granted to Ji Sun, a descendant of King Wen of Zhou. Another origin of the surname is from Taiwanese aborigines during their Sinicization. Members of the Plains tribes adopted the surname Pan as a modification of their designated status as barbarians (Fan). In Vietnam, the surname Phan is common and is derived from the Tran family, who went into hiding and changed their name in 1400 after Ho Quy Ly usurped the throne. The surname is also common in Korea, where it is romanized as Ban or Pan.
In China, surnames have historically served sociological functions and were often symbols of nobility, used to trace ancestry and assert seniority in hereditary rank. The use of different systems of romanization based on different Chinese language variants has also contributed to variations in surnames. For example, people of Mainland Chinese descent will usually have their surnames in pinyin, whereas people from Taiwan use Wade-Giles romanization.
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Taiwanese aborigines adopted the name during Sinicization, as did the Plains tribes, who modified their designated status as 'barbarians' (番, Fan)
The Taiwanese indigenous peoples have been referred to in English as Formosans, Native Taiwanese, and Austronesian Taiwanese. The name Gaoshan is the official label for all indigenous Taiwanese in the People's Republic of China. The terms Pingpu and Gaoshan, meaning 'Plains peoples' and 'High Mountain peoples' respectively, were used interchangeably with the epithets "civilized" and "uncivilized" as the Qing consolidated their power over the plains in the late 19th century.
The complexity and scope of indigenous assimilation and acculturation on Taiwan have led to three general narratives of Taiwanese ethnic change. The oldest of these narratives holds that Han migration from Fujian and Guangdong in the 17th century pushed the Plains indigenous peoples into the mountains, where they became the modern-day Highland peoples. A more recent view asserts that through widespread intermarriage between Han and indigenous peoples between the 17th and 19th centuries, the indigenous peoples were completely Sinicized. Finally, modern ethnographical and anthropological studies have shown a pattern of cultural shift mutually experienced by both Han and Plains indigenous, resulting in a hybrid culture.
During the process of Sinicization, the Taiwanese aborigines adopted the surname Pan (潘), which is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the East Asian surname 潘. Members of the Plains tribes modified their designated status as barbarians (番, Fan) to the dominant Confucian "Han" culture. In Han society, a surname was viewed as the most prominent legitimizing marker of a patrilineal ancestral link to the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) and the Five Emperors of Han mythology. Possession of a Han surname could confer significant economic and social benefits upon indigenous peoples.
One family of Pazeh became members of the local gentry, complete with a lineage to Fujian province. In other cases, families of Plains indigenous peoples adopted common Han surnames but traced their earliest ancestors to their locality in Taiwan.
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The Phan family of Vietnam was originally a noble family of the Tran dynasty
The Phan family name is the Vietnamese romanization of the East Asian surname 潘, which is listed 43rd in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames. The Phan family in the Chau Hoan region, Vietnam, was originally a noble family of the Tran dynasty. However, when Ho Quy Ly usurped the throne, the Phan family went into hiding and changed their name in 1400.
The Tran dynasty ruled Vietnam from 1225 to 1400, succeeding the Ly dynasty after a period of civil strife. During their reign, the Tran rulers continued to clash with Champa, but they also maintained several periods of peaceful coexistence. The primary challenge to their rule came from the north, where the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty in China sought to restore the Red River delta to Chinese rule. Despite being outnumbered, the Tran dynasty stubbornly resisted and eventually drove out the invaders.
The end of the Tran dynasty was marked by a deep economic and social crisis, as the wars had drained Dai Viet's resources, and the vigor of its rulers was declining. In 1400, the Tran ruler was overthrown, and the dynasty was deposed. The deposed ruler appealed to China for help in regaining the throne, which provided an opportunity for the Ming dynasty to invade Dai Viet again in 1407.
The Phan Huy family is a branch of the Phan family in Vietnam with a rich literary and academic tradition since the 18th century. They have settled for 18 generations in the commune of Thach Chau, Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh province.
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The surname is predominantly found in Asia, with 99% of those named Pan residing in Asia, 97% in East Asia, and 97% in Sino-East Asia
The surname Pan is most commonly found in Asia, with 99% of those named Pan residing on the continent. Within Asia, the name is concentrated in East Asia, where 97% of people with the surname Pan live. More specifically, 97% of people with the surname Pan reside in Sino-East Asia.
The name is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the East Asian surname 潘, which is listed 43rd in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames. It is romanized as P'an in Wade–Giles, Poon, Phoon, Pon, or Pun in Cantonese, and Phua in Hokkien and Teochew. In 2019, it was the 36th most common surname in China. The surname is also common in Vietnam and Korea. In Vietnamese, it is romanized as Phan (not to be confused with Phạm), and in Korean, it is romanized as Ban or Pan.
The surname Pan has a varied and sometimes legendary history, like many Chinese surnames. One origin story traces the name to a clan name granted to Ji Sun, a descendant of King Wen of Zhou, from a fief north of Shaanxi. Another story relates to the Sinicization of Taiwanese aborigines, where members of the Plains tribes adopted the surname Pan as a modification of their designated status as barbarians (Fan).
The frequency of the surname Pan has changed over time and in different regions. For example, in the United States, the share of the population with the surname expanded by 16,618% between 1880 and 2014, while in England, it grew by 2,683% between 1881 and 2014. The religious adherence of those with the surname Pan varies across countries, with a high percentage following Orthodox Christianity in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the surname Pan is the 36th most common surname in China and the 31st most common surname in Taiwan. It is also a common surname in Vietnam and Korea. In 2019, it was the 70th most frequently held last name globally, held by approximately 1 in 909 people.
Some notable people with the surname Pan include Pan Chong, a royal tutor in China; Cindy Pan, an Australian-born medical practitioner, best-selling author, and media personality; and Consort Pan, an imperial consort during the Chinese dynasty Liu Song and Emperor Wen's concubine.
The surname Pan has various origins, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, German, and British. In China, it is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the East Asian surname 潘, listed 43rd in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames. In Vietnam, it is romanized as Phan, and in Korea, it can be romanized as Ban or Pan. One origin of the surname in China was a clan name taken from a fief north of Shaanxi granted to Ji Sun, a descendant of King Wen of Zhou.
The frequency of the surname Pan has increased significantly in some countries over time. In the United States, the share of the population with the surname expanded by 16,618% between 1880 and 2014, and in England, it expanded by 2,683% between 1881 and 2014.







































