Explore the Family Name Zhan

The meaning of Zhan

Chinese: 1. Mandarin form of the surname 詹, meaning ‘practising divination’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from the title of officials in charge of practicing divination in ancient China. (ii) from Zhan (詹), the name of a fiefdom (probably located in Zhandian in present-day Henan province) granted to descendants of the legendary Huang Di, the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c.27th century bc), by the legendary Emperor Shun (c.23rd century bc). (iii) from the title Zhan Hou (詹侯, ’Marquis Zhan’), which was granted to one of the sons of King Xuan of Zhou (reigned 827–782 BC). (iv) from the names of Zhan Jia (詹嘉) (an official in the state of Jin) and Zhan Bo (詹伯) (an official in the state of Zheng), who were granted a fief called 詹 during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). 2. Mandarin form of the surname 占, meaning ‘practising divination’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from Zi Zhan (子占), style name of Sun Shu, a noble in the state of Chen (located mainly in present-day Henan and Anhui province) during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). 2 simplified form of the Chinese surname 詹 (see 1 above). 3. Mandarin form of the surname 湛, a word meaning ‘limpid’ or ‘profound’ in ancient Chinese: habitational name from the placename Zhan (湛), the name of a small fief (located in Henan province) in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). 4. Mandarin form of the surname 展, meaning ‘unfolding’ or ‘honesty’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from Zhan (展), the name of an ancient state (located in Xuchang in Henan province). Descendants from the state acquired 展 as the surname. (ii) for some families, the surname can be traced back to Wu Hai (died in 715 BC), the grandson of the prince Zhan (展, his style name) of the state of Lu. Wu Hai and his descendants inherited 展, style name of his grandfather as the surname. (iii) From the Zhan Chi (辗迟) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China, who changed their original surname to 展 during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). 5. Mandarin pronunciation of the surname 戰, meaning ‘fighting’ or ‘wars’ in Chinese: (i) from Bi Zhan (毕戰), an official in the state of Teng (located in Tengxian in Shandong province). His descendants inherited 戰 as the surname. (ii) for some families, the surname is also borne by descendants of certain military commanders in ancient China. Some characteristic forenames: Chinese Yi, Huimin, Lei, Wai Lam, Bin, Gao, Guo, Guosheng, Haiying, Heping, Hongbin, Huo.

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