Explore the Family Name Yon

The meaning of Yon

1. French: from the old personal name Yon, from Latin Ionis, popularized by a 3rd-century Christian saint from Athens who evangelized Châtres (present-day Arpajon), where he was martyred. Compare Yaun. 2. Altered form of Yohn, a surname of German origin. 3. Altered form of French Guyon, reflecting the specific former French Canadian pronunciation of the initial G-, followed by a vowel. Compare Yeon 2 and Young 4. 4. Cambodian: written យុន, of Chinese origin, from 尹, see Yin 2. 5. Korean (Yŏn): written 연, in Chinese characters 延, meaning ‘delay’. There are three Chinese characters for the surname Yŏn, but only one of which occurs frequently enough to be treated here. Some sources indicate that there are thirty Yŏn clans, but they all seem to be descended from the Hapsan Yŏn clan, whose founding ancestor, Yŏn Su-ch’ang, migrated to the Koryŏ kingdom after escorting a princess to the Koryŏ court. The king (probably King Ch’ungyŏl, 1274–1308) gave him some land in the Hapsan area, and so began the Hapsan Yŏn clan. The surname can be found throughout the peninsula, but it is most common in Ch’ungch’ŏng North province. Compare Yeon 1. 6. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 楊, see Yang 1. 7. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 容 and 榮, see Rong 2 and 4. History: Some of the American bearers of the surname Yon are descendants of Jean Guyon du Buisson from France, one of the earliest settlers on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in New France (see Guyon).

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