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The eight great surnames of Chinese antiquity were among the most important Chinese surnames in Chinese antiquity. ^{[1] [2]} They are all Chinese ancestral surnames^{[ citation needed]}, and as such, have Chinese clan surnames branching off from them. ^[3] During the earliest Chinese antiquity, Chinese society focused on women. Family names often passed from women to their children. Because of this phenomenon, these eight surnames have a component of their hanzi representing the character woman (女). ^{[1] [4]}

As of 2019, very few people had one of these surnames as a family name. ^[2] An exception is the surnames Yao ^{[5] [2]} and Jiang. ^{[6] [2]} Of these, there are some well-known Chinese of modern times with these names today. One example is Yao Ming (姚明). ^[7]

The eight surnames

姞 is also sometimes considered one of the eight great surnames of Chinese antiquity. 姞 then replaces the surname 妊.

See also

• Eight surnames of Zhurong

References