Family name origins & meanings
- Chinese :
from a character meaning ‘mountain pass’
or ‘guarded passage’. This formed part of the title of an official in
charge of guarding strategic passes. Descendants of one such official
are known to have adopted the character as their surname. Another
source is Guan Longfeng, a senior official during the Xia dynasty
(2205–1766 bc). - Chinese :
from the
name of the short-lived state of Guan created when the Zhou dynasty
was established in 1122 bc. The third son of Wen Wang, Guan
Shu, was granted this state. He soon betrayed his family’s trust,
however, by allying himself, along with two of his brothers, with the
descendants of the Shang dynasty that the Zhou had just displaced.
This rebellion was put down and Guan Shu was killed. His clan
dispersed, but some descendants later adopted the name Guan as their
surname. The character for this name also means ‘tube’ or ‘pipe’ and
‘manage’.