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Chinese surnames

One surname, many spellings

One character is spelled differently by dialect romanization, and one spelling can stand for several characters. A spelling alone does not show which character a family uses.

Characters
143
Spellings
156
Spellings for 2+ characters
85
Most spellings
陳 · 8
1: 81 1 81 2: 30 2 3: 15 3 4: 11 4 5+: 6 5+
Surname characters by number of Malaysian spellings in our records: 81 have one spelling, 62 have two or more.
Number of spellingsCharacters
181
230
315
411
5+6

Characters ↔ spellings

陳 → Tan陳 → Chan陳 → Chen陳 → Chin陳 → Chun陳 → Ding陳 → Tang陳 → Ting張 → Chong張 → Teo張 → Chang張 → Cheong張 → Tiong張 → Teoh張 → Zhang黃 → Wong黃 → Ooi黃 → Wee黃 → Huang黃 → Bong黃 → Ng鍾 → Chong鍾 → Choong鍾 → Cheng鍾 → Chung鍾 → Zhong郭 → Kok郭 → Koay郭 → Kuo郭 → Kuok郭 → Kwek魏 → Wee魏 → Gooi魏 → Gwee魏 → Ngwe魏 → Wei章 → Chong章 → Chang章 → Cheong章 → Zhang吳 → Goh吳 → Go吳 → Ng吳 → Gho余 → Yi余 → Eu余 → Ee余 → Yee姚 → Yew姚 → Yeo姚 → Yeow姚 → Yiu潘 → Phua潘 → Poon潘 → Pua潘 → Phan羅 → Low羅 → Law羅 → Lo羅 → Loh 陳張黃鍾郭魏章吳余姚潘羅 ChanChenChinChunDingTanTangTingTeoTeohTiongBongHuangOoiWongChengChoongChungZhongChongChangCheongWeeZhangKoayKokKuoKuokKwekNgGooiGweeNgweWeiGhoGoGohEeEuYeeYiYeoYeowYewYiuPhanPhuaPoonPuaLawLoLohLow
The 12 characters with the most spellings. Spellings in bold stand for more than one character in this chart.
CharacterSpellings
陳Tan, Chan, Chen, Chin, Chun, Ding, Tang, Ting
張Chong, Teo, Chang, Cheong, Tiong, Teoh, Zhang
黃Wong, Ooi, Wee, Huang, Bong, Ng
鍾Chong, Choong, Cheng, Chung, Zhong
郭Kok, Koay, Kuo, Kuok, Kwek
魏Wee, Gooi, Gwee, Ngwe, Wei
章Chong, Chang, Cheong, Zhang
吳Goh, Go, Ng, Gho
余Yi, Eu, Ee, Yee
姚Yew, Yeo, Yeow, Yiu
潘Phua, Poon, Pua, Phan
羅Low, Law, Lo, Loh

Your spelling, your character?

85 spellings can stand for two or more characters. Only the family knows which one is right.

SpellingPossible characters
Chong 張鍾章莊
Chang 鄭張章曾
Koo 古邱顧辜
Tang 陳鄧唐湯
Ng 吳伍黃
Cheng 鍾鄭程
Cheong 張章蔣
Foo 傅胡符
Chiu 周趙招
Chun 陳秦晉
Fu 胡傅符
Hang 漢杭衡
Heng 王邢衡
Hong 康洪方
Kuan 關管官
Li 李黎利
Loh 骆羅盧
Shi 石施史
Tong 童唐湯
Wei 魏衛韋
Yan 嚴顏甄
Zhong 鍾鐘仲
Xi 習席奚
Tan 陳譚
Wong 黃王
Chan 陳曾
Chin 陳錢
Ong 王汪
Fong 方房
Low 劉羅
Teo 張趙
Koh 許高
Toh 杜卓
Wee 魏黃
Yew 尤姚
Ang 洪翁
Ling 林凌
Teng 鄧丁
Yeo 楊姚
Chor 左曹
Eu 余歐
Gooi 魏危
Kok 郭谷
Siew 蕭邵
Teoh 張趙
Yi 易余
Bong 黃邦
Boo 巫武
Chai 蔡柴
Chooi 徐崔
Chung 鍾鐘
Ding 陳丁
Ee 余伊
Fook 福伏
Go 吳伍
Hew 丘邱
Hiew 邱丘
Hon 韓韩
Hoon 雲云
Hsing 邢幸
Kee 紀姬
Ko 許高
Kwan 關关
Lian 練連
Lo 羅罗
Loo 吕盧
Lye 黎賴
Mah 馬麻
Seah 謝佘
See 徐施
Seow 蕭邵
Shia 謝佘
Sie 施徐
Siow 蕭邵
Sum 岑沈
Tham 譚談
Ting 陳丁
Tung 董童
Yee 于余
Zhang 張章
Zhe 柘者
Lam 藍林
Ngiam 嚴閻
Thum 覃譚
Yiu 姚饒

Spelling patterns by dialect

CharacterHokkienCantoneseHakkaTeochewMandarinFoochow
陳 TanChan, ChunChinTan, TangChenDing, Ting
張 Teo, Tiong, TeohCheongChongTeoZhangTiong
黃 Ooi, Wee, NgWongWong, BongNgHuang–
郭 Kok, Koay, KwekKok, KuokKokKwek–Kuok
鍾 ChengChungChong, Choong, ChungChengZhong–
蘇 Soh, Saw, SooSooSooSoh, SooSu–
鄭 TayChengChangTayZheng–
丁 TengTing–TengDingDing, Ting
宋 SongSoong, SungSoong, SungSongSong–
林 LimLamLimLim–Ling
譚 Tan, Tham, ThumThamTham, ThumThumTan–
唐 TongTongTongTangTang–
魏 Wee, Gooi, Gwee–NgweGwee, NgweWei–
吳 Goh, Go, GhoNgNgGoh, Gho––
姚 Yeo, YeowYew, Yeow, YiuYeowYeo––
潘 Phua, PuaPoonPhanPua––
羅 Low, LohLow, Law, Lo, LohLo, LohLow––
趙 Teo, Teoh, TiewChiu–Teo–Tiew
傅 PohFoo, FuFoo, Fu–Fu–
王 OngWongWongHeng––
Characters with spellings in at least three romanizations. One spelling can appear under more than one dialect.

All 143 characters

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Frequently asked questions

What is the character for the surname Tang?

The spelling Tang can stand for 陳, 鄧, 唐, 湯. The spelling alone does not show which character a family uses; check family documents or ask relatives.

Why does one character have many spellings?

Malaysian spellings follow how a character is read in different dialect romanizations, and sometimes a registrar’s habits. 陳 is spelled Tan (Hokkien, Teochew), Chan (Cantonese), Chin (Hakka) and Chen (Mandarin).

Does a spelling show the family’s dialect?

No. A spelling describes the romanization followed at registration, not anyone’s dialect, origin or background.