Beh (surname)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LanguagesGerman, Chinese (Southern Min), others
Meaning
- Chinese (馬): horse
- Chinese (麥): wheat
- Chinese (白): white
- German: Bohemian
| Languages | German, Chinese (Southern Min), others |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Meaning |
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| Other names | |
| Variant forms | |
Beh is a surname in various cultures. It may be a variant of the German surname Boehm, as well as a Southern Min spelling of three Chinese surnames Ma, Mai, and Bai.
As a German surname, Beh may have originated as a variant of Boehm, which is a toponymic surname from Bohemia. It is also a spelling of Southern Min pronunciations of three Chinese surnames, listed in the table below.[1] These spellings of the Chinese surnames are often found among Malaysian Chinese.[2]
| Chinese characters | Mandarin | Southern Min | References | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkien | Teochew | ||||||
| Traditional | Simplified | Pinyin | Pe̍h-ōe-jī | IPA | Peng'im | IPA | |
| 馬 | 马 | Mǎ | Bé, Bée | /be⁵³/, /bɛ⁵³/ | Bhê2 | /be⁵²/ | [3] |
| 麥 | 麦 | Mài | Be̍h, Be̍eh | /beʔ²⁴/ | Bhêh8 | /beʔ⁴/ | [4] |
| 白 | Bái | Pe̍h | /peʔ²⁴/ | Bêh8 | /peʔ⁴/ | [5] | |
It is also a surname among the Krahn people of Liberia and the Ivory Coast.
