Yan (surname 阎)

In 2008, the surname Yan (simplified Chinese: 阎; traditional Chinese: 閻; pinyin: Yán) was estimated to be the 75th most common surname in the People's Republic of China, shared by around 3.1 million citizens,^[1] making it the most common of the surnames romanized Yan without tone markers.

The surname 闫 (traditional Chinese: 閆; pinyin: Yán) was created as a result of the second round of simplified Chinese characters, in 1977. Although this series of simplifications was soon retracted, some people retained the simplified surname. One source suggests that the original (阎) is more common, as it is shared by 4,900,000 people, and the 78th-most common name,^[2] while 闫 is only shared by 3,200,000 people, or the 103rd most common name.^{[3][dubious – discuss]} Both appear on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.

It may be derived from one of the following sources:

• from a fief located around Xihua County, Henan, granted to Zhong Yi, a great-grandson of Taibo, by King Wu of Zhou. Another source claims the fief was granted by King Kang of Zhou to his eldest son
• from a fief (located around the town of Yanjing in Shanxi) granted to Yi, the prince of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period.^[4]