Jiāng (surname 姜)

Jiang (Chinese: 姜, also romanized Gang, Geung, Gung, Chiang, Kang, Keung, Keong, Kiang) is one of the oldest Chinese surnames, being one of the original xing (姓) surnames. It was one of the "Eight Great Xings of High Antiquity" (上古八大姓), along with Jī (姬), Yáo (姚), Yíng (嬴), Sì (姒), Yún (妘), Guī (媯) and Rèn (妊), though some sources quote Jí (姞) as the last one instead of Rèn. Of these xing, only Jiang and Yao have survived in their original form to modern days as frequently occurring surnames. It is the 32nd surname listed in the Song dynasty-era Hundred Family Surnames poem. It is the 60th most common surname in China (2007), roughly 0.34% of the Han Chinese population.[1] The Lu clan of Fanyang stem from this surname before taking on the Lu (盧) surname. Derivative surnames of Jiang include Zhang,[2] Lü,[3] Qiu,[4] Shen.,[5] These originated:

• In the Qi (state), Jiang Ziya's descendants had the surname Jiang (姜)
• In the Qi (state), those with the surname Huan (桓) changed it to Jiang (姜)
• Chinese minority members of the population such as the Dong people, Tujia people, Yao people took the surname Jiang (姜)
• During the Yuan dynasty, Mongols were given the surname Jiang (姜)
• During the Qing dynasty, Russians, or the Eluosizu people, were given the surname Jiang (姜)

Additionally, it is the most common Hanja that represents the Korean surname Kang.