See the whole storyOrigin of my surname

Originating from the Ji surname, which branched off from the Han surname, the surname Jin descended from Tang Shuyu, son of King Wu of Zhou. It is a surname derived from a place of residence. The State of Jin was an early vassal state of the Zhou Dynasty. Its first ruler was Tang Shuyu, whose surname was Ji, given name Yu, and courtesy name Zigan. He was the son of King Wu of Zhou and the younger brother of King Cheng of Zhou, and was enfeoffed in the place called Tang. Yu's son, Xie Fu, changed his title to Marquis of Jin because there was a river called Jin River south of the ruins of Emperor Yao's capital (see the Mao Shi Pu). King Wu of Zhou's wife was the daughter of Jiang Ziya, and was revered as a saintly mother by later generations. When King Wu of Zhou slept with his wife Yi Jiang, he dreamt that the Heavenly Emperor told him, "I will grant you a son named Yu, and in the future, you may enfeoff him with the State of Tang." Later, when the baby was born, the character "Yu" was indeed on his palm, so he was named Yu, and people called him Uncle Yu. In the name Tang Shu Yu, "Tang" is the name of the fiefdom, "Shu" indicates his birth order, and "Yu" is his given name; his surname was Ji. According to the Tang Dynasty onomastics work *Yuanhe Xingzuan*, Tang Shu Yu's descendant, King An of Han (surname Ji, given name An, and because he lived in Han Yi, he was called King An of Han), was destroyed by Qin. His descendants scattered throughout the Jianghuai region, where "Han" was pronounced "He," thus forming the He surname.

According to *A Study of Family Forms in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties*, inscriptions on bronze artifacts from the late Shang Dynasty record that the surname He was a clan name belonging to a distant relative of the Shang royal family. Furthermore, oracle bone inscriptions also record the He clan's participation in sacrificial rites. The surname He also originates from ethnic minorities. In the Western Regions during the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Yuezhi people established the Kangju regime. Originally located in Zhaowu City north of the Qilian Mountains, they were later defeated by the Xiongnu and moved west across the Congling Mountains, establishing the Kang Kingdom, which grew increasingly powerful. Various regimes in the Western Regions, including Mi, Shi, Cao, He, An, Xiao An, Nasebo, Wunachang, and Mu, successively submitted to the Kang Kingdom, all adopting Zhaowu as their surname to show they did not forget their origins. Historically, this is known as the "Nine Zhaowu Surnames," and the surname He is one of them.

Originating from a surname change. The *Book of Han, Treatise on the Five Elements* records that during the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man named He Miao, originally surnamed Zhu, who later adopted the surname He. His descendants multiplied, becoming a branch of the He surname. According to the *Genealogical Records*, among the descendants of the Xiongnu Chanyu during the Han Dynasty, those who submitted to the Han Dynasty had the surname He Nai, also written as He Nai. During the Jin Dynasty, a general under Wang Jun, the governor of Youzhou, had the surname He Nai and the given name Hu. Other compound surnames included He Ba, He Ju, He Lang, He Lu, and He Qiu, which were later simplified to the single surname He. The He surname also existed among the Zi surname branches of the Shang Dynasty.

Originating from an official title, Xinghe was a palace official during the Han Dynasty, belonging to the category of surnames derived from official titles. Xinghe, also known as Xing'e, was the title of a female official established during the Han Dynasty, later becoming a title for imperial concubines in the Western Han Dynasty. Established by Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che), Xinghe's position, following the regulations of Emperor Yuan of Han (Liu Shi), was below that of Zhaoyi, equivalent to a Marquis within the Passes. Xinghe was responsible for managing palace affairs, holding a very high position, a second-rank official with a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measure). In the Han Dynasty, the heads of central government agencies such as the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the Commandant of the Guards, the Grand Master of the Palace, the Minister of Justice, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of the Imperial Treasury, and the Commandant of the Imperial Guards all received a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measurement). Some of Xing He's descendants adopted his official title as their surname, thus forming the He family.

Originating from the name of a state, specifically the Kingdom of He in the Western Regions during the Sui Dynasty, the surname He is a result of the Sinicization of the state name. According to the historical record *Book of Sui*, there was a state in the Western Regions called He. The name He is actually a transliteration of the first syllable of "Qu Shuang Ni Jia." Located between the ancient states of Kang and An, He was a pivotal point connecting eastern and western Sogdiana (an ancient state in the Western Regions), also translated as "Gui Shuang Ni," and was one of the Nine Sogdian States, once under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty. The people of He adopted the state name as their surname, thus evolving into the He surname.