Ben (surname)

Chinese family name

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]

## Origins

[edit]

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]

## Notable people

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 汉英词典. 外语教学与研究出版社. December 29, 1995. ISBN 9787560007397 – via Google Books.
2. ^ "My China Roots". www.mychinaroots.com.
3. ^ Yuan Yida (袁义达), Qiu Jiaru, 邱家儒. 中国四百大姓. Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013
4. ^ K. S. Tom. [1989] (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1285-9.
5. ^ "Ben Name Meaning & Ben Family History at Ancestry.com®". www.ancestry.com.

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Ben.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
*[fl.]: floruit ('flourished' – known to have been active at a particular time or during a particular period)