Jin (Chinese surname)

Jin
Family name
Meaning	"gold"
Region of origin	China
Language(s) of origin	Chinese
Related names	Gyim Kam Kym Kim

Jin is the Hanyu pinyin transliteration of a number of Chinese surnames. The most common one, Jīn 金, literally means "gold" and is 29th^[1] in the list of "Hundred Family Surnames". The name is also used in Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea (Koreans romanize the name as Kim) and in Hong Kong, where it is written in Cantonese as Kam. As of 2006, it is ranked the 64th most common Chinese surname.

The other, less common, surnames that are "Jin" in pinyin include Jìn (晋/晉) and Jìn (靳).

金 (Jīn)

Mythology

Jin is an ancient surname, dating back over 4,000 years. It was first mentioned during the period ruled by the Yellow Emperor, a legendary Chinese sovereign and cultural hero, who is considered in Chinese mythology to be the ancestor of all Han Chinese. The legend behind the Jin surname is as follows:

The Yellow Emperor's son, Yi Zhi (Shaohao), eventually succeeded him. On the same day he was installed as leader, a golden phoenix flew down and perched on top of a house exactly opposite of where he sat. His followers reckoned it was an auspicious beginning. They decided to use gold as the emblem of their tribe. Yi Zhi was retitled Jin Tian Shi ("golden skies") by his people, and headed the Jin Tian Tribe. Their settlement was located in Qufu (presently Qufu city in Shandong province). Yi Zhi died in 2515 BCE. Some of his descendants adopted Jin as their surnames and left off the words Tian Shi ("skies").^[2]

The surname also appeared in an area called Pengcheng (now known as Tong Shan Xian) during the Han Dynasty, from 206BCE to 220BCE.

Origin of Surname Jīn (金)

• Jīn Wang Sun (金王孫) was the first husband of Empress Wang Zhi during the Han Dynasty.
• Jīn Mi Di (金日磾) was with the Xiongnu people during the Han Dynasty and received the surname Jīn(金) from Han Wu Di. His father, Xiutu (休屠) was a general-feudal lord during the Xiongnu Dynasty. Jin Xuan (金旋) and Jin Yi (金禕) were some of his descendants.
• Qiang people use the surnames Jīn (金), Chang (羌), Gong (功), and Ju-Goo (俱).
• Some of Qian Liu's (錢鏐) descendents received the surname Jīn(金).
• Jin was among the surnames granted to the Kaifeng Jews by an unnamed Song Dynasty emperor.
• During the Yuan Dynasty, Chinese Liu (劉) clan received the surname Jīn (金), Jīn Fu Xiang (金覆祥).
• Mongolian Ye (也) clan got surname Jīn (金) at Ming Dynasty
• Taiwanese aborigines received surname Jīn (金), Zhang, amongst others, during the Qing Dynasty.
• Aisin Gioro clan got the surname Jīn (金), as "Aisin" means "gold" in Manchu language, following the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
• Jin uses the same character as the Korean surname, "Kim". Kim is Korea's most common surname and is also widely found amongst the ethnic Koreans in China.

Notables with the surname 金

• Jin Midi (金日磾)
• Jin Shengtan (金聖嘆) (born Jin Renrui 金人瑞)
• Jin Yuelin (金岳霖)
• Jin Di (金迪)
• Jin Jing (金晶)
• Jin Fengling (金鳳玲)
• Jin Jingdao (金敬道)
• Jin Liqun (金立群)
• Jin Luxian (金鲁贤) bishop of Shanghai
• Jin Xing (金星)
• Jin Li (金力)
• Jin Renqing (金人慶)
• Jin Yubo (金煜博)
• Jin Zhiyang (金志扬)
• Elaine Jin (金燕玲)
• Ha Jin (born Jin Xuefei 金雪飛)

Variants

• Gyim, Kim in Middle Chinese
• Gam, Kam in Cantonese
• Jin, Chin in Beijing dialect
• Kim, Ghim, Cam in Vietnam, Cambodia
• Gim, Kim in Korea

靳 (Jìn)

According to legend, Jìn (靳) family name originated from Zhu Rong. It was later a clan in the Chu (state). Originally the name was Jian-Jin (篯), but was later changed to Jian-Qian (錢) and Jìn (靳).

Notables with the surname 靳

• Yue-Sai Kan (靳羽西)

晋/晉 (Jìn)

Jìn (晋 family name originate from Táng Shū Yú (唐叔虞) the brother of King Wu of Zhou, he founded the state of Jin and his later descendants used the surname Jìn (晋).

Notables with the surname 晋

• Jin Xiaomei (晋小梅)

References