See the whole storyOrigin of my surname

Originating from the Parthian Empire (ancient Parthian Empire, present-day Iran), the surname An arose from the Sinicization of the country's name. Descendants of the Parthian royal family adopted the country's name as their surname, becoming the Anpartean clan. During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang, as an envoy to the Western Regions. After reaching Parthia, China and Parthia began to have contact. When the Parthian throne passed to Prince Anqing, he did not wish to be king but aspired to Buddhism and wanted to become a monk. Therefore, he abdicated the throne to his uncle and became a monk himself. In the second year of the Jianhe era of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty (148 AD), Anqing came to Luoyang, Henan, to spread Buddhism and subsequently settled there. Some followers of Anqing adopted his surname as their own, becoming the An clan, which has been passed down through generations to this day.

Originating from the Nine Sogdian Clans, these surnames originated from the nine Sogdian states in Central and West Asia during the Tang Dynasty. They are surnames adopted by ethnic minorities who adopted Han Chinese surnames. During the Tang Dynasty, the peoples and states of the Western Regions were collectively referred to as the "Nine Sogdian Clans," including the surnames Kang, Shi, An, Cao, Shi, Mi, He, Huoxun (Khwarazm), and Wudi. After the Tang Dynasty pacified the Western Turks, the Nine Sogdian Clans were placed under the jurisdiction of the Kangju Protectorate and the Anxi Protectorate. The An state (also called the Parthian state, now Bukhara, Uzbekistan) was established as the Parthian Prefecture. They gradually assimilated with the Han Chinese and later adopted the Han surname An. An Lushan, who was involved in the An Lushan Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty, was originally surnamed Kang. He was a descendant of Kangju (present-day Samarkand, Uzbekistan), one of the Nine Sogdian Clans. Later, he changed his surname to An, following his stepfather's surname. His descendants have also used An as their surname, which has been passed down to this day.

The surname An originated from the Sinicization of the Xianbei people, specifically from the Anchi tribe of the Xianbei during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the Anchi clan (distributed in present-day Qinghai Province) was part of the Tuyuhun tribe of the Xianbei. It was later absorbed by the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei. After the establishment of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, Tuoba Hong, implemented comprehensive Sinicization reforms after moving the capital to Luoyang, changing the Anchi clan to the Han surname An. Most of their descendants adopted the surname An, gradually assimilating into the Han Chinese population, and the surname has been passed down through generations to this day.

The surname An originated from the Sinicization of Manchus. According to historical records such as *The General History of the Qing Dynasty: Clan Records: Manchu Eight Banners Surnames* and *The Imperial General History of the Eight Banners: Biographies of Virtuous Women*: (1) The Manchu clan Elhe, meaning peace and prosperity in Manchu, lived for generations in Suifen (present-day Dongning, Heilongjiang), Aihun (present-day Aihun, Heihe, Heilongjiang), and along the Heilongjiang River. Later, they changed their surname to the single-character Han surname An. Among the Mongol clans, there were originally clans such as Aldan, Deligen, and Anzhang, which were adopted as surnames by the Manchus, and their descendants all changed their surnames to the single-character Han surname An. (2) The Manchu Anggang clan, also known as the Anggang clan, is called Aangang Hala in Manchu. It is one of the Manchu surnames. For generations, they lived in the Ulan Tatar (now Alxa Left Banner, Inner Mongolia) and Bayanhot area (now Alxa Left Banner, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia). After the mid-Qing Dynasty, most of them adopted the Han surname An, and a few adopted the Han surname Gang or Gang.

Originating from the Hui ethnic group, the surname An comes from Wan Ge Su, who spread Islam to China from the Arab region of the Western Regions during the Tang Dynasty. The pronunciation of the character "Wan" is similar to that of "An". Some of his descendants adopted "An" as their surname, which is a result of Sinicization. An is one of the ancient surnames of the Hui ethnic group in China and is a common surname among them.

Originating from the Xi ethnic group's assimilation into Han culture, this surname comes from the Xi people during the Tang Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, there were Uyghur and Xi people, some of whom adopted "An" as a Han surname and settled in the Central Plains. They gradually assimilated into the Han ethnicity, and the surname has been passed down through generations to this day.

Originating from the Mongol ethnic group, the surname An comes from various tribes descended from Belgutei, the sixth brother of Genghis Khan. During the Ming Dynasty, some Mongol people from the former Yuan Dynasty, such as Mengge and Dase, submitted to the Ming government. Their descendants were bestowed the Han surname An by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, meaning "content with their lot." Their descendants adopted the Han surname An, which has been passed down to this day.

Originating from the Han Chinese adoption of the surname An. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, several Yi tribes in southwestern China, including the Shama, Cunmi, and Jiba clans, adopted the Han surname An during the "Abolish the Tusi system and replace it with officials appointed by the central government" movement. This surname has been passed down through generations to the present day.

The surname Ardan originated from the Han Chinese adoption of the Daur surname. According to the *Heilongjiang Gazetteer: Clan Records*, the Daur clan of Ardan lived in the Heilongjiang region for generations. Later, some Manchus adopted it as a surname, pronounced Ardan Hala in Manchu. After the mid-Qing Dynasty, most members of the Daur clan of Ardan changed their surname to the Han surname An.

The surname Anjia originated from the Sinicization of the Xibe people. According to the *Qing Dynasty General History of Clans and Surnames of the Eight Banners of Manchuria*, the ancestors of the Xibe Anjia clan were originally Han Chinese. During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, they were absorbed by the Wuhuan tribe of the Liaodong Xianbei and assimilated into the Xianbei. Later, they gradually evolved into the Liaodong Xibe people, residing for generations in Pusetun Village (present-day Zhuanghe County, Dalian, Liaoning). Later, some Manchus adopted the surname Anjia, pronounced Angiya Hala in Manchu. From the mid-Qing Dynasty onwards, most Xibe and Manchu Anjia clan members changed their surname to the Han surname An.

Originating from foreign ethnic groups, these surnames come from Russian and Cossack prisoners of war captured by the Tsarist Russian army during the Qing Dynasty, and are examples of surnames adopted through Sinicization. From the mid-17th century, Tsarist Russian colonists invaded the Heilongjiang River basin in China for decades, their invasions covering the entire region. The Russian invaders forcibly built fortified villages and settlements along the banks of the Heilongjiang River, plundered villages, extorted furs, captured hostages, raped women, tortured and murdered residents, and instigated local chieftains to submit to the Tsar. The Chinese government repeatedly protested to Tsarist Russia, demanding an end to the invasion of China's northeastern border and the extradition of fugitives, but Tsarist Russia completely ignored these demands. To protect the border and pacify the people, Emperor Kangxi, after suppressing the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories, implemented a series of measures to strengthen China's northeastern border defenses. These Russian prisoners of war (known as Manchus) numbered 129. Emperor Kangxi later bestowed upon them the surname An, meaning "to safeguard the Great Qing." They were detained in China and forbidden from returning to Tsarist Russia. Their descendants adopted An as their surname and gradually assimilated into the Han and Manchu ethnic groups, a surname that continues to this day. Several years later, a Russian envoy came to Beijing. Some of the Russian Manchus requested that they be taken back to Russia, but the envoy's reply was blunt: "Take you back to Russia? Only if you are taken to the border as traitors and hanged, can your bodies be taken back to Russia!" In Russian historical records, these Russians are generally referred to as Albazinians (Russian Gossaks), but in certain contexts, they are collectively referred to as fugitives, traitors, defectors, or collaborators.

The An clan originated from the Korean ethnic group (Chinese, Korean, and Korean). The Korean An clan originally had the surname Li. Their ancestor, An Yuan, was Chinese. In the second year of the Yuanhe era of Emperor Xianzong of Tang (1127), An Yuan moved eastward to the foot of Songak Mountain in Goryeo (present-day Kaesong, North Korea). He had three sons: the eldest, Ji-chun; the second, Ye-chun; and the youngest, Hwa-chun. In the fourth year of King Gyeongmun of Silla, the Gapsin Wokou Rebellion occurred. The three brothers participated in suppressing the rebellion and were thus granted the surname An. Ji-chun changed his name to Bang-jun and was enfeoffed as Prince Juksan; Ye-chun changed his name to Bang-jie and was enfeoffed as Prince Gwangju; and Hwa-chun changed his name to Bang-xia and was enfeoffed as Prince Gyeongju.