Shǐ (surname)

Shi
PronunciationShǐ (Mandarin)
Sú (Hokkien)
Si2 (Cantonese)
Shr3 (Xiang)
Language(s)Chinese
Origin
Language(s)Chinese
Meaninghistory
Other names
Variant form(s)Shi, Shih (Mandarin)
Sze, Si (Cantonese)

Shǐ (史) is a Chinese surname meaning "history" of "official historiographer". It is romanized Shih in Wade–Giles, or Sze or Si in Cantonese romanization. According to a 2008 study, it was the 82nd most common name in China. A 2013 study found that it is shared by 2.85 million people, or 0.210% of the population, with the province with the most people being Henan.[1] It is the 63rd name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.[2]

Origins

  1. It is said to be borne by descendants of Cang Jie, the official historiographer during the reign of the mythical Huang Di, the ‘Yellow Emperor’[3]
  2. Shi (史), post name of an official in charge of recording historical events during the Western Zhou dynasty. Later, the surname was subsequently adopted as a surname by descendants of official historiographers in many regional states during the Spring and Autumn period
  3. adopted as a surname by the Sogdians, and became one of the "Nine Sogdian Surnames", also known as ‘nine surnames of Zhaowu’
  4. adopted as a surname by the Ashina tribe (阿史那), a Turkic tribe during the Tang dynasty
  5. descendants of Shi Ji (史繼), who was bestowed with the surname by Emperor Suzong of Tang

Notable people

References

  1. ^ 中国四百大姓 Front Cover, 袁义达, 邱家儒, Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013
  2. ^ K. S. Tom. [1989] (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1285-9.
  3. ^ The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland