Chang (張)
A Taiwanese surname.
張 Chang
- Zhuyin
- ㄓㄤ
- Pinyin
- zhāng
- Wade-Giles
- Chang
- Further spellings of 張
- Jang, Jhang, Zhang
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Tiunn Tiunn is the colloquial (白讀) reading, while tiong is the character's literary (文讀) reading.
- Hakka (Sixian)
- zong²⁴
- Rank in Taiwan
- 4th most common surname, roughly 5.3% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
As a verb it means 'to draw (a bow), to open out, to spread'; it is also a measure word for flat things such as paper or tables.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition holds that Hui (揮), a grandson of the Yellow Emperor, made the first bows and arrows and received the surname Zhang; the character joins 弓 'bow' to 長 'long'. A further line descends from Xie Zhang (解張), an official of the state of Jin. Hall name (堂號): 清河堂.
Saying it 我姓張 — wǒ xìng zhāng (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄓㄤ), "my family name is 張"
Sources: rank and share, 內政部 全國姓名統計分析 (Ministry of the Interior, National Name Statistics), data as of 2023-06-30. Taiwanese Hokkien readings, 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 (MOE Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi), 百家姓 appendix. Hakka, 教育部臺灣客語辭典 (MOE Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka), 百家姓表, Sixian (四縣腔).