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Ren (surname)

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Rén is the Mandarin pinyin romanisation of the Chinese surname written 任 in Chinese script. It is romanised as Jen in Wade–Giles, and Yam or Yum in Cantonese. It is listed 58th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.[1] As of 2008, it is the 59th most common surname in China, shared by 4.2 million people.[2] In 2019 it was the 49th most common surname in Mainland China.[3]

PronunciationRén (Mandarin)
Cantonese: Jyutping: jam4, Middle Chinese: /ȵiɪmH/

Old Chinese:

(Baxter–Sagart): /*n[ə]m-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*njɯms/
LanguageChinese
LanguageOld Chinese
Variant formsYam, Yum, Jen (Mandarin Wade Giles)
Quick facts Pronunciation, Language ...
Rén (任)
PronunciationRén (Mandarin)
Cantonese: Jyutping: jam4, Middle Chinese: /ȵiɪmH/

Old Chinese:

(Baxter–Sagart): /*n[ə]m-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*njɯms/
LanguageChinese
Origin
LanguageOld Chinese
Other names
Variant formsYam, Yum, Jen (Mandarin Wade Giles)
DerivativeIm (Korean surname)
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The character 任 is typically pronounced (pinyin: rèn; Jyutping: jam6), but as a surname is pronounced "rén," as well as in Ren County in Hebei.

Ancient Surname

Rèn (妊) is a variant of the surname and one of the Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity. Unlike 任, it is a very rare surname.

The Zuo Zhuan states that the surname Ren is a descendant of Fuxi's surname Fēng.

Some consider the two surnames to be related.

Notable people

Self portrait of Ren Xiong

Fictional characters

See also

References

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