Orient Name
› Surnames › 元
元 Yuan — a rarer surname
80.8 / 100 overall fit
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| Pinyin | Yuan |
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| Strokes | 4 |
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| Commonness | outside the top 100 |
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| Type | single-character |
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Where the surname comes from
A surname from the Shang dynasty, meaning 'first' or 'origin'.
What the character means
beginning, fundamental, vitality
Why it scores this way
Easy to say96
Reads the way it looks for an English speaker — no sounds English doesn't have.
Recognised in China51
Outside the top 100 — distinctive, but some people will ask you to repeat or write it.
Easy to write100
4 strokes — one of the simpler surnames to write and sign.
People who carried this name
- Yuan Shikai — Late Qing military leader and first president of the Republic (1859–1916).
- Yuan Zhen — Tang dynasty poet and politician, known for his poetic partnership with Bai Juyi and his role in the New Yuefu movement.
- Yuan Haowen — Late Jin and early Yuan dynasty scholar-poet, famed for his lyrics and the celebrated line about love in his ci poetry.
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Other surnames with the same feel
中文版