See the whole storyOrigin of my surname

Origins of the Han Chinese surname Ai: 1. The clan that invented the moxa knife in ancient times adopted Ai as their surname. 2. Ru Ai, a female general who assisted Emperor Shao Kang of the Xia Dynasty in revitalizing the dynasty, was the first female spy in Chinese history. Because of her great contributions, Emperor Shao Kang bestowed upon her the surname Ai. Ru Ai is the ancestor of the Ai surname recorded in writing. 3. The state of Ai (near present-day Xiushui, Jiangxi Province), a vassal state of the Shang Dynasty. Descendants of the state adopted the name of the state as their surname. 4. The descendants of the last marquis of the state of Ai in Tangyin adopted the name of their former state, "Ai," as their surname. 5. Ji Liang, the sixth-generation descendant of Kong Fuzhi, the Grand Marshal of the State of Song during the Spring and Autumn Period (and Confucius's uncle), went into seclusion in Ailing, State of Qi (southeast of present-day Taishan District, Tai'an City, Shandong Province). He changed his surname and given name, adopting the place name Ai as his surname and his original surname Kong as his given name, becoming Ai Kong. His descendants later adopted Ai as their surname. 6. Qing Ji, the son of King Liao of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period, sought refuge in Ai City in 515 BC (one account says it was Ai Yi of the State of Wu—present-day Xiushui County, Jiangxi Province; another says it was Ai City of the State of Wei, possibly present-day Tangyin County, Henan Province). One branch of his descendants adopted Ai as their surname, the name of the place where he sought refuge.

Origins of the surname Ai among ethnic minorities: 1. The Xianbei clan of the Northern Wei Dynasty changed their surname to Ai in 496 AD. 2. In 1240 AD, the Hui Muslim leader Ailibadulu led his followers to submit to the Song Dynasty and changed his surname from Ai to Ai, taking the name Ai Zhongxiao. 3. The Ai surname among the Hui people mainly comes from the first syllable of their religious name (i.e., Hui people's given names). For example, Abu Bak, a Hui person who submitted to the Qing Dynasty, had descendants who adopted Ai as their surname. 4. Some members of the Manchu clans Aisin Gioro, Xilin Gioro, Aiyi, and Aihun (Aihun) changed their surname to Ai. 5. The Mongolian surname Ai originates from the first character of the Mongolian surname "Airiyingut". 6. The Yi people of Eryuan County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, changed their surname from Jiao to Ai between 1872 and 1873, which later evolved into the surname Ai. 7. Some ethnic minorities, including the Kyrgyz, Xibe, Bai, Yao, Tujia, Miao, Dong, Buyi, Gelao, Hani, Lahu, Wa, Dai, Blang, Zhuang, and Korean, also have Ai as their surname.

Origins of the surname Ai among foreign ethnic groups: 1. The surname Ai originated among Jews residing in China, such as those who came to China to trade around 1050 AD during the mid-Northern Song Dynasty and later settled in the capital Bianliang (present-day Kaifeng). 2. Descendants of Amyna, a Hui Muslim from the Middle East who served as Darughachi of Yuzhou (present-day Fangcheng County, Nanyang City, Henan Province) during the Zhishun era of the mid-to-late Yuan Dynasty, adopted Ai as their surname.