Fang (方)
A Taiwanese surname.
方 Fang
- Zhuyin
- ㄈㄤ
- Pinyin
- fāng
- Wade-Giles
- Fang
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Png Png is the colloquial (白讀) reading, while hong is the character's literary (文讀) reading.
- Hakka (Sixian)
- fong²⁴
- Rank in Taiwan
- 52nd most common surname, roughly 0.33% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
The character means 'square', 'direction, region', 'method' and 'prescription'.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to Fang Shu (方叔), a minister of King Xuan of Zhou who led southern campaigns; his descendants took his name as their surname. Hall name (堂號): 河南堂.
Saying it 我姓方 — wǒ xìng fāng (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄈㄤ), "my family name is 方"
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).