There are lots of Chinese people. We all know that. There are also lots of Chinese people with the same last names.
Well, not quite as many in English.
Romanization of Chinese last names into English (or any language that uses the Roman alphabet) can get pretty complicated, but let’s try to keep it relatively simple by focusing on the differences among Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. You don’t want me to get into the provincial pronunciations of Chinese last names (almost every province in China has its own dialect and therefore its own way of pronouncing every last name there is). Further, most provinces in Mainland China use standard pinyin anyway, meaning they romanize their last names as they would be pronounced in standard Chinese Mandarin. “Pinyin” means more or less “pronunciation” in Mandarin and is China’s officially adopted romanization system. Hong Kong speaks Cantonese, so they romanize their last names a different way. Taiwan speaks Mandarin as well, so sometimes it romanizes last names the same way as Mainland China.
Anyway, onto the last names (Chinese characters in parentheses are simplified characters followed by a comma then the traditional; if there is no comma, then Mao never managed to make that character simpler for foreigners to learn).
Let’s start with the four most common ones.
Zhang = Cheung = Chang (?, ?)
Zhang Ziyi is without a doubt the most famous Chinese actress outside of China. Zhang is her last name. In Chinese names, the surname precedes the given name, but once romanized, it can go either way, which can be pretty confusing for foreigners. However, nowadays, if a Chinese person has an English first name, then the last name definitely goes after. If the name’s simply romanized Chinese, then the last name appears first.
Zhang is the most common Chinese last name, which easily makes it the most common last name in the world. Another Chinese celebrity famous overseas is Zhang Yimou, director of Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Curse of the Golden Flower. The two are not related (maybe if you go way back). One of Hong Kong’s former “Four Kings of Heaven,” a title bestowed upon the four most popular crooners in all of Hong Kong, was Jackie Cheung. No, still not related. Sorry, I can’t think of any famous Taiwanese person with this last name off the top of my head, which means anyone I name wouldn’t even be remotely recognizable to a broad audience.
Chen = Chan (?, ?)
I’ll give you a few seconds to think of a Chinese celebrity with the last name Chan. Yeah, Jackie Chan. He’s from Hong Kong. Taiwanese President, Chen Shui Bian, has the same last name. Well, maybe by the time you read this article, he’s already former President.
Wang = Wong (?) (=Huang) (?)
This last name can get a little sticky, for there are two different last names that actually sound different in Mandarin (Wang and Huang), but in Cantonese they are both romanized as “Wong” because the two are identical in sound. To illustrate this example, do you remember those Once Upon a Time in China films? They’re about a historical Chinese martial artist (some would say he’s the historical Chinese martial artist) whose name is Wong Fei Hong, played by Jet Li. This is a Cantonese romanization because the man was Cantonese. The particular Wong that is his last name (?) is romanized as “Huang” in Mandarin, not simply “Wang,” which would be a simply enough switch. The Hong Kong actress/singer Faye Wong, who sang “Eyes On Me” from Final Fantasy VIII, has the other Wong as her last name (?).
Li = Lee (?)
Lovers of martial arts can rejoice. The two greatest Chinese martial artists of the century, Jet Li and Bruce Lee, have the same last name. No, Gong Li, the beautiful Chinese actress who plays Hatsumomo in Memoirs of a Geisha and Colin Farrell’s love interest in Miami Vice, does not share the same last name. Her last name is Gong. “Li” is also the romanization of some other Chinese last names, but the one I mention here is the most common.
There go the big four. Let’s move on with some other popular Chinese last names. I’m sure you’ve met Chinese people with these last names.
Zhou = Chow (?)
Chow Yun Fat (Hong Kong actor from Replacement Killers, Bulletproof Monk, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Stephen Chow (director and writer of and actor from Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle), and Jay Chow (insanely popular Taiwanese pop star, which has always made me wonder why his last name is romanized like that) all share the same last name. A lesser known actress overseas, Zhou Xun from Mainland China, who has starred beside Zhang Ziyi, has the same last name.
Lin = Lam (?)
Kelly Lin, who was ranked FHM’s sexiest woman in Asia in 2002, and Lin Chiling, a famous Taiwanese model, share the same last name. There’s a famous Cantonese restaurant called Lam’s in West London. Same last name.
Liu = Lau (?, ?)
Hong Kong actor/singer/all-around-celebrity Andy Lau (actor from House of Flying Daggers and Battle of Wits), also one of the former “Four Kings of Heaven,” is probably the most famous person in the world with this last name.
This is just a start on different romanizations of the same Chinese last names. I hope this article has enlightened you on some of the shared ancestry some of your Chinese friends might have.
