Explore the Family Name Yen

The meaning of Yen

1. Chinese: alternative Mandarin form of the surnames 嚴, 閻, 閆, 顏, 晏, 言, 燕, 鄢, 彦 and 延, see Yan 1–10. 2. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 甄, see Zhen. 3. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 殷, see Yin 1. 4. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 袁, see Yuan 1. 5. Vietnamese (Yên): from the Chinese surname 鄢, see Yan 8. Some characteristic forenames: Chinese Wei, Chen, Cheng, Chi, Chieh, Chih, Ching, Shing, Wen, Chao, Chimin, Chung-Cheng. Vietnamese Anh Thi, Chau, Cuc, Cuong, Giai, Hoanh, Houng, Hue, Hung, Lam, Leang, Ly.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Yen in the United States?

The surname "Yen" ranked 6661 in popularity in the year 2000 as per the Decennial U.S. Census data, with around 4676 people carrying this name. The rank slightly dropped to 6671 by 2010, but the count of people carrying the surname increased to 5066, indicating a growth of 8.34%. The proportion of people with the surname Yen per 100,000 people saw a marginal decrease of 0.58% from 1.73 in 2000 to 1.72 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#6,661#6,671-0.15%
Count4,6765,0668.34%
Proportion per 100k1.731.72-0.58%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Yen

In terms of ethnicity, based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the majority of individuals with the surname "Yen" identified as Asian/Pacific Islander in both 2000 and 2010, although there was a slight decrease of 1.21% over the decade. The percentage of individuals identifying with two or more races saw an increase of 16.26%, while those identifying as White decreased by 7.71%. The percentage of people identifying as Hispanic showed a significant increase of 35.94%, though the overall proportion remains relatively small. Notably, the proportion of individuals identifying as Black increased substantially from 0.17% to 0.47%, marking a 176.47% change. There were no individuals who identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native in either year.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander90.21%89.12%-1.21%
Two or More Races4.06%4.72%16.26%
White4.28%3.95%-7.71%
Hispanic1.28%1.74%35.94%
Black0.17%0.47%176.47%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%

Yen 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 Yen is Chinese, which comprises 76.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (3.9%) and Vietnamese (3.1%). Additional ancestries include Korean, Filipino & Austronesian, French & German, Indonesian, Thai, Khmer & Myanma, and Spanish & Portuguese.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Chinese76.1%
British & Irish3.9%
Vietnamese3.1%
Other17.0%
Yen

Possible origins of the surname Yen

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 Yen have recent ancestry locations in China and Taiwan.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Guangdong, China58.90%
Fujian, China57.50%
Jiangsu, China55.50%
Zhejiang, China54.80%
Shanghai, China54.80%

What Yen 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 Yen is O-F8, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F8 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include O-F11 and O-M1348, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Tsao, Ku, Xue, Uy, Tong, Diep, Yao, Kao, Hao, Liao.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Yen surname are: D4a, D4, M7b. These most commonly trace back to individuals of East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry.

yenPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Han Chinese

Haplogroup O-Page23 has been found in several populations of the Han Chinese ethnic group. The ancestors of the Han, called the Huaxia, lived in the upriver basin of the Yellow River 5,000-6,000 years ago. As agricultural technology improved, the Huaxia spread east and south, and became the Han Chinese. Over the last 2,000 years, there have been three major migrations of the Han southward. The first of these migrations occurred during the Jin Dynasty from 317 to 420 CE, when nearly one million people moved south. A second migration occurred during the Tang Dynasty, after the An-Shi Rebellion, between 755 and 762 CE. The last migration occurred during the Southern Song Dynasty, from 1127 to 1297 CE, when nearly 5 million people migrated southward. The Pinghua, a branch of Han in which haplogroup O2a2b1a1 is particularly common, may be descendants of indigenous minority groups that adopted Han culture during one such major migration event.

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.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Yen 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

Yen

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Yen" Surname 47.5%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Yen

Cheek Dimples

Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.

"Yen" Surname 41.4%

23andMe Users 37.6%

Habits

Yen

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Yen" Surname 20.0%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Yen

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Yen" Surname 11.0%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Yen?

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 Yen are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease

ε4 variant

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by memory loss, cognitive decline, and personality changes. Late-onset Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of Alzheimer's disease, developing after age 65. Many factors, including genetics, can influence a person's chances of developing the condition. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the most common genetic variant associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease: the ε4 variant in the APOE gene. Learn more about Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease

Chinese 18.2%

23andMe Users 25.5%