Ma (surname) explained

Ma
Pronunciation:(Pinyin)
Má, Bé (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)
Language:Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian
Language origin:Old Chinese
Derivation:Name of a district
Meaning:"Horse"
Romanization:Ma, Mah, Mar, Mo (Mandarin, Cantonese)
Beh/Baey (Teochew)
Bey (Hokkien)
Ma, Mu (Korean)
Archa, Be/Bae (Thai)
(Vietnamese)
Mahmud(Indonesian)

Ma is a Chinese family name. The surname literally means "horse".[1] As of 2006, it ranks as the 14th most common Chinese surname in mainland China. In 2019 it was the 13th most common surname in mainland China.[2] A 2013 study found it to be the 13th most common, shared by 17,200,000 people or 1.290% of the population, with the province with the most being Henan. It is the 52nd name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.[3]

The offspring of Zhao She adopted "Ma" (馬), the first word of the district Ma Fu, as their surname. Other romanizations include Mah, Beh and Mar. Almost all people surnamed Ma are his descendants.

Hui Muslims, Salars, Bonan and Dongxiang people commonly adopted Ma as the translation for their surname Mahmud / Muhammad. for e.g. Ma Jian, Ma Benzhai, Ma clique.[4] [5] [6] [7]

During the Ming dynasty, the Zhengde Emperor had a Uyghur concubine with the surname Ma.[8] [9]

Notable people

Members of the Ma clique in the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China (1912–49) era

Westernized-style surname

See also

Notes and References

  1. Ian Jeffries. Political Developments in Contemporary China: A Guide. Routledge, 23 Jul 2010. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  2. Web site: 新京报 - 好新闻,无止境 .
  3. K. S. Tom. [1989] (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. .
  4. Book: Muslim Chinese: ethnic nationalism in the People's Republic. Dru C. Gladney. 1996. Harvard Univ Asia Center. Cambridge Massachusetts. 375. 0-674-59497-5. 2011-04-09.
  5. Book: Guide to Islamist Movements. BARRY RUBIN. 2000. M.E. Sharpe. 79. 0-7656-1747-1. 2011-04-09.
  6. Book: Muslim diversity: local Islam in global contexts . Leif O. Manger. 1999. Routledge. 132. 0-7007-1104-X. 2011-04-09.
  7. Book: China off center: mapping the margins of the middle kingdom. Susan Debra Blum . Lionel M. Jensen . 2002. University of Hawaii Press. 121. 0-8248-2577-2. 2011-04-09.
  8. Book: Luther Carrington Goodrich. Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644, Volume 2. Zhaoying Fang. Association for Asian Studies. Ming Biographical History Project Committee.. Columbia University Press. 1976. 0-231-03801-1. 314. Luther Carrington Goodrich. 2010-11-28.
  9. Book: China marches west: the Qing conquest of Central Eurasia. Peter C. Perdue. 2005. Harvard University Press. 64. 0-674-01684-X. 2011-04-17.