Ma (surname 麻)

Ma
Chinese name
Chinese	麻
Literal meaning	hemp
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Má Wade–Giles Ma2 IPA [mǎ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Maa4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Môa Middle Chinese Middle Chinese /mae/ Old Chinese Zhengzhang /*mraːl/
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Ma

Ma (麻) is a Chinese surname.^[1] According to a 2013 study, it was the 253rd most common name in China; it was shared by 330,000 people, or 0.025% of the population, being most popular in Zhejiang.^[2] It is the 135th name in the Hundred Family Surnames poem.^[3]

It should not be confused with Mǎ (马/馬) ("horse"), one of the most common surnames in China.

The character 麻 denotes a plant, usually hemp, sesame or flax. The surname is traced to the Spring and Autumn Period (8th–5th centuries BC), being derived from either of:

• Ma (麻), the name of a fief located in Macheng, Hubei, which was granted to an official of the state of Chu^[4]
• Ma Ying (麻婴), an official in the state of Qi^[5]

• Ma Qiu (麻秋, d. AD 350), Later Zhao and Former Qin general
• Ma Gui (麻贵, 1543–1617), Ming general
• Ma Zhenjun (麻振军, born 1962), PLAAF general
• Xiaonan Ma (麻小南, born 1962), mathematician
• Ma Jingyi (麻敬宜, born 1995), curler
• Sanggok Ma clan, a Korean clan