Ma (surname 麻)

Chinese family name

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.

## Origins

[edit]

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]

## Notable people

[edit]

* 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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 羊姓史话. 江西人民出版社. February 23, 2001. ISBN 9787210024453 - via Google Books.
2. ^ Yuan Yida (袁义达), Qiu Jiaru, 邱家儒. 中国四百大姓. Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013
3. ^ 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.
4. ^ "Ma Surname Meaning & Ma Family History at Ancestry.com®". www.ancestry.com.
5. ^ "Last name MA: Origin and meaning".

*[d.]: died