Ren (surname)

Rén (任)

Pronunciation| Rén (Mandarin)
Cantonese: Jyutping: jam4, Middle Chinese: /ȵiɪmH/

Old Chinese:

(Baxter–Sagart): /*n[ə]m-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*njɯms/
Language(s)| Chinese
Origin
Language(s)| Old Chinese
Other names
Variant form(s)| Yam, Yum, Jen (Mandarin Wade Giles)
Derivative(s)| Im (Korean surname)

Rén is the Mandarin pinyin romanisation of the Chinese surname written 任 in Chinese script. It is romanised as Jen in Wade–Giles, and Yam or Yum in Cantonese. It is listed 58th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.[1] As of 2008, it is the 59th most common surname in China, shared by 4.2 million people.[2] In 2019 it was the 49th most common surname in Mainland China.[3]

The character 任 is typically pronounced (pinyin: rèn; Jyutping: jam6), but as a surname is pronounced "rén," as well as in Ren County in Hebei.

## Ancient Surname

[edit]

Rèn (妊) is a variant of the surname and one of the Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity. Unlike 任 it is a very rare surname

The Zuo Zhuan states that the surname Ren is a descendant of Fuxi's surname Fēng.

Some consider the two surnames to be related

## Notable people

[edit]

Self portrait of Ren Xiong

* Ren Guang (任光; died 29 AD), Eastern Han dynasty general, one of the Yuntai 28 generals
* Ren Shang (died 118), Eastern Han Protector General of the Western Regions
* Ren Jun (died 204), Eastern Han dynasty military officer
* Ren Yaxiang (died 662), Tang dynasty general and chancellor
* Ren Zhigu (fl. 692), chancellor of Empress Wu Zetian
* Ren Huan (died 927), Later Tang general and chancellor
* Ren Renfa (1254–1327), Yuan dynasty artist and irrigation expert
* Ren Xiong (1823–1857), painter of the Shanghai School
* Ren Xun (1835–1893), painter, brother of Ren Xiong
* Ren Bonian (1840–1896), painter of the Shanghai School, nephew of Ren Xiong and Ren Xun
* Ren Zhu (died 1867), Nien Rebellion leader
* Ren Fuchen (1884–1918), Soviet Red Army commander
* Ren Guang (1900–1941), composer
* Ren Bishi (1904–1950), early Communist leader
* Chih-Kung Jen (Ren Zhigong; 1906–1995), Chinese-American physicist
* Yam Kim-fai (任劍輝, 1913–1989), opera actress
* Ren Mei'e (1913–2008), geologist
* Ren Zhongyi (1914–2005), Communist Party Chief of Liaoning and Guangdong province
* Ren Xinmin (1915–2017), aerospace engineer
* Ren Jiyu (1916–2009), philosopher, scholar
* Ren Rong (1917–2017), general and Communist Party Chief of Tibet Autonomous Region
* Ren Rongrong (任溶溶; 1923–2022), children's literature writer and translator
* Ren Jianxin (1925–2024), President of the Supreme People's Court of China
* Ren Zhengfei (born 1944), founder, chairman and CEO of Huawei
* Ren Wanding (born 1944), founder of Chinese Human Rights League
* Yum Sin-ling (Ren Shanning; born 1948), Hong Kong politician
* Joseph Yam (任志剛, born 1948), Hong Kong statistician
* Ren Zhiqiang (born 1951), Chinese property tycoon and critic of the government
* Gish Jen (Ren Bilian; born 1955), American writer
* Simon Yam (Ren Dahua; born 1955), Hong Kong actor
* Ren Runhou (1957–2014), former Vice Governor of Shanxi province
* Ren Jianxin (born 1959), founder and president of ChemChina
* Ren Yexiang (born 1961), actress
* Vivian Wing-Wah Yam (Ren Yonghua; born 1963), Hong Kong chemist
* Ren Xuefeng (1965–2019), Party Chief of Guangzhou and Deputy Party Chief of Guangdong and Chongqing
* Richie Jen (Ren Xianqi; born 1966), Taiwanese singer and actor
* Yam Kai-bong (任啟邦, born 1978), Hong Kong politician
* Edward Yum (Ren Liangxian; born 1979), Hong Kong politician, son of Yum Sin-ling
* Alex Yam (任梓铭, born 1981), Singaporean politician
* Selina Jen (Ren Jiaxuan; born 1981), Taiwanese singer, member of S.H.E
* Ren Hui (born 1983), female speed skater, Olympic medalist
* Ren Han (born 1984), artist
* Ren Yongshun (born 1985), football player
* Ren Cancan (born 1986), world champion female boxer
* Ren Ye (born 1986), female field hockey player, Olympic medalist
* Ren Hang (1987–2017), photographer
* Ren Suxi (born 1988), Chinese actress and singer
* Ren Hang (born 1989), football player
* Ren Xin (born 1989), football player
* Ren Jialun (born 1989), Chinese actor and singer
* Ren Junfei (born 1990), basketball player
* Ren Hao (任豪) (born 1995), Chinese singer, member of R1SE
* Ren Ziwei (born 1997), speed skater

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "百家姓" [Hundred Family Surnames] (in Chinese). Guoxue. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
2. ^ 中国最新300大姓排名（2008） [300 most common surnames in China (2008)] (in Chinese). Taiwan.cn. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
3. ^ "新京报 - 好新闻，无止境".

* v
* t
* e

100 most common family names in mainland China (2020)

1–25|

* Wáng 王
* Lǐ 李
* Zhāng 张/張
* Liú 刘/劉
* Chén 陈/陳
* Yáng 杨/杨
* Huáng 黄/黃
* Zhào 赵
* Wú 吴/吳
* Zhōu 周
* Xú 徐
* Sūn 孙/孫
* Mǎ 马/馬
* Zhū 朱
* Hú 胡
* Guō 郭
* Hé 何
* Lín 林
* Luó 罗/羅
* Gāo 高
* Zhèng 郑/鄭
* Liáng 梁
* Xiè 谢/謝
* Sòng 宋
* Táng 唐

26–50|

* Xǔ 许/許
* Hán 韩/韓
* Dèng 邓/鄧
* Féng 冯/馮
* Cáo 曹
* Péng 彭
* Zēng 曾
* Xiāo 萧/蕭
* Tián 田
* Dǒng 董
* Pān 潘
* Yuán 袁
* Cài 蔡
* Jiǎng 蒋/蔣
* Yú 余
* Yú 于
* Dù 杜
* Yè 叶/葉
* Chéng 程
* Wèi 魏
* Sū 苏/蘇
* Lǚ 吕/呂
* Dīng 丁
* Rén 任
* Lú 卢/盧

51–75|

* Yáo 姚
* Shěn 沈/沉
* Zhōng 钟/鍾
* Jiāng 姜
* Cuī 崔
* Tán 谭/譚
* Lù 陆/陸
* Fàn 范
* Wāng 汪
* Liào 廖
* Shí 石
* Jīn 金
* Wéi 韦/韋
* Jiǎ 贾/賈
* Xià 夏
* Fù 傅
* Fāng 方
* Zōu 邹/鄒
* Xióng 熊
* Bái 白
* Mèng 孟
* Qín 秦
* Qiū 邱
* Hóu 侯
* Jiāng 江

76–100|

* Yǐn 尹
* Xuē 薛
* Yán 阎/閻
* Duàn 段
* Léi 雷
* Lóng 龙/龍
* Lí 黎
* Shǐ 史
* Táo 陶
* Hè 贺/賀
* Máo 毛
* Hǎo 郝
* Gù 顾/顧
* Gōng 龚/龔
* Shào 邵
* Wàn 万/萬
* Qín 覃
* Wǔ 武
* Qián 钱/錢
* Dài 戴
* Yán 严/嚴
* Mò 莫
* Kǒng 孔
* Xiàng 向
* Cháng 常

Related|

* Hundred Family Surnames
* List of common Chinese surnames
* 101–200 Most Common Family Names in mainland China

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Ren.
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.
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template