Wang (王 / 汪)
2 Taiwanese surnames carry the spelling Wang.
王 Wang
- Zhuyin
- ㄨㄤˊ
- Pinyin
- wáng
- Wade-Giles
- Wang
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Ông
- Hakka (Sixian)
- vong¹¹
- Rank in Taiwan
- 6th most common surname, roughly 4.09% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
'King, ruler'; it also means the leader of a group, or a person outstanding at a skill.
Where the surname comes from
Because it means 'king', the name was adopted by several unrelated lines descended from royal houses. The best known traces to Prince Jin (太子晉), son of King Ling of Zhou; the Langya (琅琊) and Taiyuan (太原) branches rose to prominence from the Han onward. Hall name (堂號): 太原堂/琅琊堂.
Saying it 我姓王 — wǒ xìng wáng (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄨㄤˊ), "my family name is 王"
汪 Wang
- Zhuyin
- ㄨㄤ
- Pinyin
- wāng
- Wade-Giles
- Wang
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Ong
- Hakka (Sixian)
- vong²⁴
- Rank in Taiwan
- 83rd most common surname, roughly 0.14% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
'Deep and wide' (of water); a puddle; it also imitates the sound of a dog barking.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to Prince Wang (公子汪), a son of Duke Cheng of Lu, whose descendants adopted Wang as their surname. Hall name (堂號): 平陽堂.
Saying it 我姓汪 — wǒ xìng wāng (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄨㄤ), "my family name is 汪"
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).