Ouyang


Ouyang is a Chinese surname. Ouyang is the most common two-character Chinese compound surname, being the only two-character name of the 400-most common Chinese surnames, according to 2013 study, and is one of the twenty-odd two-character surnames that have survived into modern times.

History

The Song Dynasty historian Ouyang Xiu traced the Ouyang surname to Ti, a prince of Yue, the second son of King Wujiang. After his state was extinguished by the state of Chu, Ti and his family was living in the south side of the Mount Ouyu. In Classical Chinese, the south side of a mountain or the north bank of a river is called Yang, thus the Ti family was called Ouyang. He was called Marquis of Ouyang Village. Traditionally, Ti's ancestry can be traced through his father Wujiang, the King of Yue, to the semi-legendary Yu the Great.
According to a 2013 study, Ouyang was the 169th most common name in China, being shared by around 910000 people or 0.068% of the total population, with the province with the most people with the name being Hunan.

Geographical origins

In terms of distribution Ouyangs have mostly been confined to southern China, especially the areas of southern Jiangxi, central Hubei and eastern Henan, with smaller pockets in Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan and Guangxi.

Notable clans

The most prominent of the Ouyang clans historically was undoubtedly that of Yongfeng in Jiangxi, which produced a number of scholars who reached prominence in the imperial bureaucracy. Genealogical lineages and family trees have been established for a number of Ouyang clans around China, showing migration patterns from the Song to the Qing dynasty.

Immigration outside of China

There was a large immigration of Ouyangs in the late 19th century and early 20th century to the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento Delta Area. In summer of 2005, the first extended Ouyang family reunion was held in Locke, near Sacramento. Over 200 Ouyangs attended and included speeches, sharing, family trees and documentation. This group continues to communicate using Ouyang Yahoo! Groups and spans members from across North America and beyond.

Notable people with this surname