Eng (name)
Eng is a Chinese, German, and Scandinavian surname, as well as a given name in various cultures.
Language(s) | Chinese (Cantonese, Southern Min), German, Norwegian, Swedish |
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Other names | |
Variant form(s) |
Given name
- Eng Abner Nangwale (1932–2013), Ugandan politician
- Eng Bunker (1811–1874), Siamese-American conjoined twin brother of Chang Bunker
- Chong Eng (章瑛; born 1974), Malaysian politician
- Eng Tow (杜瑛; born 1947), Singaporean contemporary artist
Surname
Origins
Eng may be the spelling of multiple Chinese surnames, based on their pronunciation in different varieties of Chinese; they are listed below by their spelling in Hanyu Pinyin, which reflects the standard Mandarin pronunciation:[1]
- Wú (吳), spelled Eng based on its Cantonese pronunciation (Jyutping: Ng4)[2]
- Wǔ (伍), spelled Eng based on its Cantonese pronunciation (Jyutping: Ng5)[3]
- Róng (榮/荣), spelled Eng based on its Hokkien pronunciation (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Êng)[4]
- Wēng (翁), spelled Eng based on its Teochew pronunciation (Peng'im: Êng1)[5]
- Yīng (應), spelled Eng based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects (e.g. Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Eng; Teochew Peng'im: Êng3)[6][7]
Ng is another spelling of the Cantonese pronunciation of the first two surnames listed above. Chinese Americans in the Pacific Northwest tended to prefer the spelling Eng over Ng.[8] The Cambodian surname Eng (អេង) probably originates from the latter three surnames mentioned above.
As a German surname, Eng is a variant spelling of Enge, a topographic surname for a person who lived in a valley or other such narrow place, from German eng 'narrow'.[9]
The Norwegian and Swedish surname Eng originated as an ornamental surname from Old Norse eng and Swedish äng 'meadow'.[10]
Statistics
As of 2023, there were 910 people in Norway with the surname Eng.[11]
The 2010 United States census found 10,862 people with the surname Eng, making it the 3,352nd-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 10,102 (3,246th-most-common) in the 2000 census. In both censuses, roughly three-quarters of the bearers of the surname identified as Asian and 14% as non-Hispanic white.[12] It was the 179th-most-common surname among respondents to the 2000 census who identified as Asian.[13]
Politics and government
- Brynolf Eng (1910–1988), Swedish diplomat
- Eng Chhai Eang (អេង ឆៃអ៊ាង; born 1965), Cambodian politician
- Hans Eng (1907–1995), Norwegian physician and Nazi collaborator
- Hughes Eng (fl. 1959–present), Chinese-born Canadian activist
- Jakob Eng (1937–2022), Norwegian banker and politician
- John Eng (born 1942), American politician of Chinese descent in Washington State
- Mike Eng (伍國慶; born 1946), American politician of Chinese descent in California
- Suriani Abdullah (birth name Eng Ming Ching; 1924–2013), former central committee member of the Communist Party of Malaya
- Randall T. Eng (born 1947), mainland Chinese-born American jurist
- Roland Eng (born 1959), Cambodian diplomat
- Susan Eng (伍素屏; fl. 1974–present), Canadian lawyer of Chinese descent, former chair of the Metro Toronto Police Services Board
- Sigrun Eng (born 1951), Norwegian politician
Sport
- Bertil Eng (1930–2006), Swedish speed skater
- Jacob Eng (born 2004), Norwegian football striker
- Martin Eng (born 1986), Norwegian biathlete
- Philipp Eng (born 1990), Austrian racing driver
- Tony Eng (born 1959), Swedish curler
Television and film
- Dayyan Eng (伍仕賢; born 1975), Taiwan-born American filmmaker
- Esther Eng (伍錦霞; 1914–1970), American filmmaker of Chinese descent
- Kenneth Eng (fl. 1994–present), American filmmaker of Chinese descent
- Marny Eng (born 1969), Canadian stuntwoman
- Peppe Eng (born 1948), Swedish sports journalist
- Vickie Eng (fl. 1990–present), American actress
Other
- Charis Eng (born 1962), Singaporean-born American geneticist
- Diana Eng (born 1983), American fashion designer of Chinese descent
- Helga Eng (1875–1966), Norwegian psychologist and educationalist
- Janice J Eng (born 1963), Canadian neurologist
- Johnny Eng (伍少衡; born c. 1958), Hong Kong-born American criminal
- Mercedes Eng (fl. 2010–present), Canadian writer of Chinese descent
- Phoebe Eng (born c. 1961), American writer of Chinese descent
- Richard Eng (伍經衡; born 1964), Hong Kong tutor of English
References
- Hanks, Patrick, ed. (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 528. ISBN 9780199771691.
- Louie, Emma Woo (1998). Chinese American Names: Tradition and Transition. McFarland. p. 71. ISBN 9780786438778.
- Louie 1998, p. 71
- Medhurst, Walter Henry (1832). A dictionary of the Hok-këèn dialect of the Chinese language, according to the reading and colloquial idioms. East India Company Press. p. 177.
- Koh, Jaime (2013). Singapore Childhood: Our Stories Then and Now. World Scientific. p. 28. ISBN 9789814390774. Additionally see "翁". mogher.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- Medhurst 1832, p. 177
- Fielde, Adele M. (1883). "應". A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press. p. 121. Additionally see "應". mogher.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- Louie 1998, p. 127
- Hanks 2003, p. 528
- Hanks 2003, p. 528
- "Names". Statistics Norway. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- "How common is your last name?". Newsday. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- "Most common last names for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S." Mongabay. Retrieved 8 January 2018.