Find out how popular the last name Bian is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bian.

Bian, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bian surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bian in America

Bian is the 32438th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bian surname appeared 709 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bian.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bian to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bian

The surname "BIAN" is believed to have originated in China, with its roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from a Chinese word that means "flat" or "even," possibly referring to a geographic feature or a person's temperament.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the historical Chinese text "Zizhi Tongjian," which chronicles the history of China from 403 BC to 959 AD. This text mentions a person named Bian Shao, who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and served as a high-ranking official in the imperial court.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the surname Bian was particularly prevalent in the regions of Henan and Shaanxi provinces. Several notable figures from this period bore the name, including Bian Shumin (1008-1086), a renowned scholar and poet, and Bian Luan (1035-1107), a famous military strategist and statesman.

In the later Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Bian family produced a number of prominent scholars and officials. One of the most celebrated was Bian Yingyu (1516-1582), a renowned Confucian scholar and calligrapher who served as a high-ranking official in the imperial court.

Another notable figure with the surname Bian was Bian Qiao (1860-1936), a revolutionary leader and educator who played a significant role in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China.

During the 20th century, the name Bian continued to be associated with influential figures in various fields. For example, Bian Zhilin (1910-2000) was a celebrated writer and playwright who contributed significantly to modern Chinese literature, while Bian Xiuquan (1920-2005) was a renowned physicist and academician known for his contributions to the field of nuclear physics.

It is important to note that the surname Bian has also been transliterated in various ways throughout history, with alternative spellings such as Pien, Pyan, and Bien appearing in different regions and historical records.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bian

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bian.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bian was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bian has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bian was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bian, please contact us.

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