Yan (surname)

Yan is a Chinese surname. It is the romanization for several Chinese characters, e.g. "严 (嚴)", "偃", "颜 (顏)", "言", "燕", "阎 (閻)", "闫 (閆)", "鄢" in Mandarin or "甄" in Cantonese (Zhen in Mandarin).

严 (嚴)

Yan (simplified Chinese: 严; traditional Chinese: 嚴) is a Chinese surname. It has various origins:

in Chu (state), Zhuang (莊) family get surname Yan (嚴), branch of Xiong (surname)
Zhuang (莊) family change their names to Yan (嚴) upon the ascension of the Han Ming Emperor, whose personal name was Zhuang, owing to the naming taboo.
in Qin (state), Ying (嬴) family get surname Yan (嚴), branch of Yíng (Chinese surname)
during the Ancient, the State of Yan (嚴國) founded, there Citizen get surname Yan (嚴) with title of state
during the Sixteen Kingdoms, the royal of Xianbei get surname Yan (嚴), branch of Liu family the Xiongnu
Chinese Minority the Xibe people, Yi people, Tu people use surname Yan (嚴)
Also known as Yim

Notable people

Yen Chia-kan (born 1905–1993), President of Taiwan 1975-1978
Yan Fu (born 1854), Chinese scholar
Geling Yan (born 1958), Chinese writer
Yim Ho (born 1952) Hong Kong film directors, leader of Hong Kong New Wave
Yan Jiaqi (born 1942), Chinese political scientist and dissident
Yan Jinxuan (born 1924), Chinese composer of The White Haired Girl
Yan Junqi (born 1946), Vice chairwoman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress of China
Yan Pei-Ming (born 1960), Chinese-born French painter
Yan Shimin (born 1987), Chinese rower
Yan Shunkai (born 1937), Chinese comedian, actor and director
Sophia Yan (born 1986), American classical pianist
Yim Wing-chun, a Chinese legendary character, often cited in Wing Chun legends as the first master of the martial art bearing her name
Yan Yikuan (born 1979), Chinese actor and singer

阎 (閻)

Yan (simplified Chinese: 阎; traditional Chinese: 閻) surname from Ji (姬) family of Zhou Dynasty, and some other surname Yan merge to Yan (閻) in the East Asian Nation.

Yan Weiwen (born 1957), Chinese opera singer with origins in the People's Liberation Army
Yan Chongnian (born 1934) Chinese historian
Yan Fang, Chinese softball player
Yan Hong, Chinese race walker
Yan Lianke (born 1958), Chinese writer of novels and short stories
Yan Sen (born 1975), Chinese table tennis player
Yan Shipeng (born 1987), Chinese football player
Yan Song (footballer) (born 1981), Chinese footballer
Yan Xuetong (born 1952), Dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University

闫 (閆)

Yan (simplified Chinese: 闫; traditional Chinese: 閆) is the same as Yan (閻), only the shape of writing.

Yan Feng
Yan Han (figure skater), Chinese figure skater
Yan Meizhu (born 1989), Chinese team handball player
Yan Ni (born 1971), Chinese actress
Yan Xiangchuang (born 1986), Chinese footballer

颜 (顏)

Also known as Gan or Ngan

Gan Kim Yong, Singapore politician
Yan Junling, Chinese football goalkeeper
Ngan Lok Fung, Hong Kong football midfielder
Yen Shui-long, Taiwanese painter and sculptor
Yan Hui, disciple of Confucius
Yan Huiqing, Chinese writer, politician, and diplomat from Shanghai
Kevin Ngan, Hong Kong fencer
Yan Jeou-rong, Taiwanese politician
Gan Eng Seng, Chinese businessman and philanthropist who was one of the early pioneers of Singapore
Yen Hsing-su, also known as Johnny Yen, Taiwanese basketball player
Johnny Ngan, Hong Kong film actor and television actor.
Yan Bingyan (颜丙燕), Chinese actress

甄

Further information: Zhen (surname)

Yan Lik Kin (born 1961), Hong Kong football coach
Martin Yan, Chinese American chef and food writer
Donnie Yen, Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer, and multiple-time world wushu tournament champion.

Unknown Chinese

Yan Huo, American hedge unfd manager
Yan Bingtao, Chinese snooker player
Yan Feng (athlete) Chinese paralympic athlete competing in throwing events
Yan Hong (swimmer) (born 1967), Chinese swimmer
Yan Huilian (born 1983), Chinese archer
Yan Jiankui (born 1976), Chinese sprinter
Yan Jing (born 1970), Chinese fencer
Yan Liang (handballer) (born 1985), Chinese handballer
Marline Yan, (born 1993), Canadian actress and singer
Stephen Yan, Hong Kong born Canadian cooking show host of Wok With Yan
Yan Wei, Chinese middle distance runner
Yan Xiandong, Chinese fencer

Other Chinese

Aaron Yan (炎) (born 1986), Taiwanese Mandopop
Jack Yan (甄) (born 1972), Hong Kong born New Zealander publisher and businessman
Jerry Yan (言) (born 1977), Taiwanese actor
Yan Xing (artist) (鄢), Chinese artist in performance as well as installations, video and photography
Yan Zi (晏) (born 1984), Chinese tennis player

Burmese (ရန်ရ)

Yan Aung Kyaw (born 1989), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
Yan Aung Win (born 1992), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
Yan Naing Oo (born 1996), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
Yan Paing (born 1983), Burmese footballer for Myanmar national football team
Yan Yan Chan, Burmese singer

Other languages

Amanda Yan, Canadian wheelchair basketball player
Esteban Yan, Dominican baseball pitcher
Joseph Yan, Kiribati footballer
Vitali Yan, Russian football midfielder
Dennis Yan (born 1997), Russian-American ice hockey player, picked in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft

延

Yan (延) is a Chinese surname. It has various origins:

during the Han Dynasty, Xirong (西戎) the Loufan (樓煩) get surname Yan (延), branch of Pan (surname) (潘)
during the Northern Wei (北魏), Emperor Xiaowen (孝文帝) family get surname Yan (延)
during the Northern Wei (北魏), Xianbei noble's three-syllable surname was reduced to Yan (延)
during the Ancient, Yue people (越族) Baiyue (百越) get surname Yan (延) in Zhejiang the old Wu (state)