Shen (沈)
A Taiwanese surname.
沈 Shen
- Zhuyin
- ㄕㄣˇ
- Pinyin
- shěn
- Wade-Giles
- Shen
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Sím
- Hakka (Sixian)
- siim³¹
- Rank in Taiwan
- 40th most common surname, roughly 0.51% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
Read shěn, it is listed as a surname; read chén, it is the same as 沉, 'to sink'.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to Ji Zai (季載), a son of King Wen of Zhou, enfeoffed at Shen (沈) in present-day Henan. When Cai conquered Shen, his descendants took the state's name. Hall name (堂號): 吳興堂.
Saying it 我姓沈 — wǒ xìng shěn (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄕㄣˇ), "my family name is 沈"
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).