See the whole storyOrigin of my surname

The surname Jiang originates from Gongzi Gao, the son of Duke Wen of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period. It is a surname derived from an ancestor's name. The surname Jiang is descended from Emperor Yan, Shennong, who was born near the Jiang River (present-day Baoji, Shaanxi). Bo Yi, the seventeenth-generation descendant of Emperor Yan, assisted Yu the Great in controlling the floods and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Lü. His descendants also adopted Lü as their surname. Jiang Shang, the thirty-seventh-generation descendant of Marquis Lü, also known as Jiang Taigong, Lü Shang, or Lü Wang, assisted King Wen and King Wu of Zhou in overthrowing the Shang Dynasty and establishing the Zhou Dynasty. He was enfeoffed in the State of Qi. The State of Qi passed to Duke Wen of Qi, Jiang Chi, the eighth-generation descendant of Jiang Taigong. His second son was enfeoffed in Gaoyi (present-day Yuxian, Henan) and became known as Gongzi Gao. According to the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty nobility, his grandson Gao Xi should have taken his grandfather's name as his surname, becoming Gao Xi. Gao Xi served as a high-ranking official in the State of Qi, and he helped install Prince Xiaobai as the ruler, who became Duke Huan of Qi. Gao Xi became the progenitor of the famous Bohai Gao clan. Gao Xi's seventh-generation descendant, Gao Zhi, was ostracized by Gongsun Zao and Gongsun Zan in the State of Qi, so he left Qi for the State of Yan. Gao Zhi's ninth-generation descendant, Gao Liang, served as the Minister of Works in the State of Song, and Gao Liang's tenth-generation descendant, Gao Hong, served as the governor of Bohai Commandery during the Eastern Han Dynasty. One branch of Gao Hong's descendants, Gao Yin and Gao Zhan, uncle and nephew, founded the Yuyang Gao clan and the Liaodong Gao clan; another branch, Gao Kui, founded the Guangling Gao clan; and Gao Boxiang, a descendant of the Bohai Gao clan, founded the Jingzhao Gao clan. Most members of the Jiang surname Gao clan venerate Gao Xi as the progenitor of the Jiang surname.

The surname Gao originated from Gongzi Gao, the son of Duke Hui of Qi, and is derived from the name of an ancestor. Duke Hui of Qi (whose personal name was Yuan) was the son of Duke Huan of Qi (Xiaobai) and his concubine Shaowei Ji. He reigned as the ruler of Qi for ten years. Duke Hui's son was named Gongzi Qi, whose courtesy name was Zigao. His descendants also used Gao as their surname, becoming the Shandong Gao clan.

Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Hong (Yuan Hong), vigorously implemented political reforms and promoted a policy of Sinicization during the 17th to 20th years of the Taihe era (493-496 AD). During this process, the multi-syllable compound surnames of northern ethnic minorities were changed to single-character surnames in Han characters. Among them, the Shilou clan of the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei changed their surname to Gao, and later merged with the Han Chinese, becoming one of the Gao clans in Henan. In Feng County, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, there are two villages, Dan Gaolou and Shuang Gaolou. Dan Gaolou village has a Gao clan ancestral hall, suggesting it is a branch of the Lou clan of the Xianbei. During the late Eastern Wei Dynasty of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, Yuan Jing'an, a Xianbei, was granted a noble title in the Duxiang area of Xihua County by Gao Huan, the Grand Chancellor of the Eastern Wei, for his military achievements in the Battle of Mangshan. In the eighth year of the Wuding era of Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei (550 AD), Gao Huan's son, Gao Yang, deposed Emperor Xiaojing and established the Northern Qi regime. In the same year, the first year of the Tianbao era of Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi (Gao Yang), Yuan Shanjian was granted the noble surname Gao. Additionally, Yuan Wenyao, a Xianbei, was also highly valued by Kings Gao Yang and Gao Yan during the Northern Qi period. For his merit in supporting King Gao Zhan's ascension to the throne, in the second year of the Tiantong era of Northern Qi (566 AD), Emperor Gao Wei issued an edict granting him the surname Gao. Their descendants adopted Gao as their surname, forming one of the Gao clans in Henan.