Explore the Family Name Ge
The meaning of Ge
1. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 葛, referring to a ‘type of herbal plant’: (i) said to be from Ge-Tian (葛天), the name of an ancient tribe in China living prior to the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (ii) from Ge (葛), the name of an ancient state (located in Henan province) during the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (iii) borne by descendants of Hong Ge Lu (洪葛盧), also known as Hong Pu Lu, who offered support to Emperor Guangwu of Han (5 BC–57 AD) and made great contributions to the establishment of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD). He later transferred the title that had been conferred on him by the emperor to his brother, and migrated to Gou Rong (in present-day Jiangsu province). Some of his descendants inherited Ge (葛), part of his personal name, as their surname. (iv) adopted as a surname by the He Ge (賀葛) family, members of the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). 2. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 戈, referring to a ‘kind of weapon’ in ancient China: from Ge (戈), the name of an ancient state (located in Henan province) during the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). 3. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 倪, see Ni. 4. Chinese: alternative Mandarin form of the surname 蓋, see Gai 1. 5. In some cases possibly also French (Gé): variant of Gée (see Gee). Some characteristic forenames: Chinese Jian, Ping, Haiping, Huilan, Ling, Ming, Pei, Qiong, Song, Wen, Xun, Yan.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Ge in the United States?
Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Ge has significantly increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Ge ranked 24,513th in popularity, but by 2010 it had jumped to 15,309th, marking a change of 37.55%. The number of people with the surname also doubled from 956 in 2000 to 1,917 in 2010, highlighting a growth rate of over 100%. The proportion of individuals with the surname Ge per 100,000 increased from 0.35 to 0.65, an increase of approximately 86%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #24,513 | #15,309 | 37.55% |
| Count | 956 | 1,917 | 100.52% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.35 | 0.65 | 85.71% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ge
The ethnic identity associated with the surname Ge, as per the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, is predominantly Asian/Pacific Islander. In 2000, about 89.44% of the people with the Ge surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, increasing to 91.44% by 2010. This indicates a 2.24% increase over the decade. White individuals with the surname rose from 5.02% to 5.95%, while Black individuals saw a slight increase from 1.36% to 1.41%. However, the percentage of individuals identifying with two or more races declined sharply by 71.23%, and those identifying as Hispanic almost halved from 2.20% to 0.78%. There was no data available for American Indians and Alaskan Natives by 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 89.44% | 91.44% | 2.24% |
| White | 5.02% | 5.95% | 18.53% |
| Black | 1.36% | 1.41% | 3.68% |
| Hispanic | 2.2% | 0.78% | -64.55% |
| Two or More Races | 1.46% | 0.42% | -71.23% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.52% | 0% | -100% |
Ge ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Ge is Chinese, which comprises 86.0% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Korean (3.0%) and Manchurian & Mongolian (3.0%). Additional ancestries include Spanish & Portuguese, Vietnamese, Greek & Balkan, Indigenous American, and Eastern European.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 86.0% |
| Korean | 3.0% |
| Manchurian & Mongolian | 3.0% |
| Other | 8.0% |
Possible origins of the surname Ge
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Ge have recent ancestry locations in Taiwan and China.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Taipei, Taiwan | 15.50% |
| Guangdong, China | 11.30% |
| Hubei, China | 11.30% |
| Tainan City, Taiwan | 10.30% |
| Fujian, China | 10.30% |
What Ge haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Ge is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Ge surname are: M8a, R, D4. These most commonly trace back to individuals of East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to the Han
Members of haplogroup D are found in both northern and southern Han Chinese populations at low to moderate frequencies. The Han people, who all share the same language and similar cultural practices, are the largest ethnic group in the world, with about 1.2 billion people. Historical evidence shows that Han people are descendants of the ancient Huaxia tribes that come from northern China, and Han language and culture only expanded into southern China in the last 2,000 years. The spread of Han people and culture from northern to southern China was likely driven by warfare and famine in the north.
What do people with the surname Ge have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Vanilla Ice Cream
Prefers vanilla flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Ge" Surname 35.0%
23andMe Users 36.7%
Traits
Cheek Dimples
Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.
"Ge" Surname 64.3%
23andMe Users 37.6%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Ge?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Ge are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition