Chan (surname)

Chan is a non-pinyin romanisation of multiple Chinese surnames, based on different varieties of Chinese.

Among respondents to the 2000 United States census, Chan was the 12th-most common surname among Asian Pacific Americans, and 459th-most common overall, with 59,811 bearers (91.0% of whom identified as Asian/Pacific Islander).[1] Chan was the ninth-most common Chinese surname in Singapore as of 1997 (ranked by English spelling, rather than by Chinese characters). Roughly 48,400 people, or 1.9% of the Chinese Singaporean population, bore the surname Chan.[2]

## Cantonese romanisation of 陈/陳

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Chan is a Cantonese romanisation of the surname spelled in pinyin as Chén (Chinese: 陳).

* Chan Kong-sang (陳港生; born 1954) a.k.a. Jackie Chan, Hong Kong actor
* Diana Ming Chan (張陳維明; 1929–2008), American social worker of Chinese descent
* Amy Chan (badminton) (陳念慈; born 1961), Hong Kong badminton player
* Isabel Chan (陳逸寧; born 1979), Hong Kong actress
* Gemma Chan (陳靜; born 1982), English actress and model of Chinese descent
* Eugene Chan (陳西林), Hong Kong linguist
* Agnes Chan (陳美齡), Hong-Kong-born university professor, essayist and novelist
* Sunney Chan (陳長謙; 1936–2025), American biophysical chemist

## Hokkien romanisation of 曾

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Chan is a Hokkien romanisation of the surname spelled in pinyin as Zēng (曾). People with this surname include:

* James Chan Soon Cheong (曾順祥; 1926–2023), Malaysian Roman Catholic bishop
* Jose Mari L. Chan (曾煥福; born 1945), Filipino singer-songwriter
* Chan Soo Sen (曾士生; born 1956), Singaporean politician
* Soo K. Chan (曾仕乾; born 1962), Singaporean architect
* Chan Kwok Fai (曾國琿; born 1982), Malaysian singer
* Dinah Chan (曾秀卿; born 1986), Singapore road cyclist
* Jasper Chan (曾羽辉; born 1988), Singaporean footballer
* Chan Kwong Beng (曾廣銘; born 1988), Malaysian badminton player
* Chan Boon Yong (曾文勇), Malaysian diamantaire
* Jannie Chan (曾秀丽), Singaporean luxury retail businesswoman
* Priscelia Chan (曾詩梅), Singaporean actress
* Chan Tien Ghee (曾長義), Malaysian businessman

## Mandarin Wade–Giles romanisation of 詹

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Chan is a Mandarin Wade–Giles romanisation (often used in Taiwan) of the surname spelled in pinyin as Zhān (詹). People with this surname include:

* Chan Chun-po (詹春柏; born 1941), Taiwanese Kuomintang politician
* Steve Chan (詹啟賢; born 1948), Taiwanese Kuomintang politician and physician
* Thomas Chan (詹順貴; born 1963), Taiwanese Green Party politician
* Chan Ya-wen (詹雅雯; born 1967), Taiwanese Hokkien pop singer
* Chan Yih-shin (詹益信; born 1977), Taiwanese golfer
* Faye Chan (詹雯婷; born 1981), Taiwanese singer
* Chan Chin-wei (詹謹瑋; born 1985), Taiwanese female tennis player
* Yako Chan (詹子晴; born 1988), Taiwanese singer and actress
* Chan Che-Yuan (詹哲淵; born 1989), Taiwanese football midfielder
* Chan Yung-jan (詹詠然; born 1989), Taiwanese tennis player
* Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴; born 1993), Taiwanese tennis player, younger sister of Chan Yung-jan
* Chan Sheng-Yao (詹聖堯), Taiwanese Buddhist master and artist
* Chan Ting-I (詹婷怡), Taiwanese politician

## Mandarin Wade–Giles romanisation of 战/戰

[edit]

Chan is a Mandarin Wade–Giles romanisation (often used in Taiwan) of the surname spelled in pinyin as Zhàn (战/戰). People with this surname include:

* Elisa Chan (戰琬瑜), American politician in Texas

## Romanization of "田"

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Chan is a romanisation of the surname spelled in pinyin as Tián (田). People with this surname include:

* Chan Seng Khai (田承凱; born 1953), Malaysian politician in Sarawak
* Jeremy Chan (田銘耀; born 1981), Singaporean actor and singer

## Other

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* Angel Chan (disambiguation)
* Cynthia Chan, Filipino politician
* Jeffery Paul Chan (1942–2022), American writer and scholar
* Julius Chan (1939–2025), Papua New Guinean politician and Prime Minister
* Ken Chan (born 1993), Filipino actor
* Kenneth Chan (disambiguation)

## See also

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* All pages with titles beginning with Chan
* All pages with titles containing Chan
* Chan (disambiguation)
* Chal (name)
* Char (name)

## References

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1. ^ "Most common last names for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S." Mongabay. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
2. ^ "Popular Chinese Surnames in Singapore". Statistics Singapore Newsletter. Vol. 20, no. 2\. October 1997. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2018.

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Chan.
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.