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

Wan, 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 Wan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wan in America

Wan is the 5911th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wan surname appeared 5,831 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Wan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wan 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 Wan

The surname "WAN" is believed to have originated from China, with records dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is derived from the Chinese character "万", which means "myriad" or "countless". This character was often used to represent a large number or abundance.

In ancient China, surnames were often given to families based on their occupation, location, or personal characteristics. The surname "WAN" may have been given to families who were wealthy or had a large number of descendants, reflecting the meaning of the character.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "WAN" can be found in the "Tang Huiyao", a historical text compiled during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). This text mentions a person named Wan Zhenggong, who served as a high-ranking official during the Tang Dynasty.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the surname "WAN" was prominent in various regions of China, particularly in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. In the "Ming Shi", a historical record of the Ming Dynasty, there are mentions of several notable individuals with the surname "WAN", such as Wan Guoxuan (1501-1578), a renowned scholar and writer.

In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912 AD), the surname "WAN" continued to be widely used across China. One notable figure from this period was Wan Sida (1636-1713), a famous Confucian scholar and philosopher who made significant contributions to the study of the Confucian classics.

Throughout history, the surname "WAN" has also been associated with various place names in China. For example, the city of Wanzhou in Chongqing was named after the Wan family, who were prominent landowners in the area during the Tang Dynasty.

Other notable historical figures with the surname "WAN" include Wan Xizhi (309-365 AD), a celebrated calligrapher during the Jin Dynasty, and Wan Huida (1599-1658), a prominent Ming Dynasty scholar and poet.

While the surname "WAN" has been prevalent throughout Chinese history, it has also been adopted by individuals of other ethnicities and nationalities over time. However, its origins can be traced back to ancient China, where it was associated with prosperity, abundance, and a large family lineage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wan

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

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 Wan 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 Wan 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 Wan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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