Ben (surname)

Ben
The Bēn character in small seal script
Traditional Chinese	賁
Simplified Chinese	贲
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bēn Wade–Giles Pên1 IPA [pə́n] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Ban1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Hûn Middle Chinese Middle Chinese /bʉi/

Ben (trad. 賁, simp. 贲) is a Chinese surname meaning "bright, energetic".^[1][2] It is romanized Pên in Wade–Giles, or Ban in Cantonese romanization. According to a 2013 study, it was not one of the top 400 surnames in modern China.^[3] It is the 179th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.^[4]

Several origins are claimed for the surname:

• from Xian Ben Fu (縣賁父) a carriage driver during the reign of Duke Zhuang of Lu (706–662 BC)
• from Hu Ben (虎賁), an official post in charge of guarding the king or the royal palace
• from the Ben Hun (賁渾), a minority ethnic group in ancient western China^[5]

• Fan Ben (died 349), Chinese politician and emperor
• Sun Ben (fl. 190s–200s), Chinese general
• Wang Ben (fl. 220s BCE), Chinese general

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Ben.
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