Chen (surname)

Chen / Chan
Chen surname in regular script
Romanization	Chen (Mandarin) Tan (Hokkien, Teochew) Chan (Cantonese) Chin (Taishanese, Hakka, Japanese) Zen (Wu) Ding (Gan) Jin (Korean) Trần (Vietnamese)
Pronunciation	Chén (Pinyin) Tan (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)
Language(s)	Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean
Origin
Language(s)	Old Chinese
Derivation	Chen (state)
Other names
Derivative(s)	Trần, Jin (Korean name) Sae-Tang Sae-Chen Sae-Chin Sae-Tan (Thai name)

Chen ([ʈʂʰə̌n]) (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Chén; Wade–Giles: Ch'en) is one of the most common East Asian surnames of Chinese origin. It ranks as the 5th most common surname in China as of 2007 and the most common surname in Singapore (2000) and Taiwan (2010). Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hong Kong (spelt Chan in Hong Kong and Macau). It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the ancestral hometown of many overseas Hoklo. Besides 陳/陈, an uncommon Chinese surname / is also romanized as Chen.

It is usually romanised as Chan in Cantonese, most widely used by those from Hong Kong, and sometimes as Chun. The spelling, Chan, is widely used in Macao and Malaysia. In Min (including dialects of Chaoshan (Teochew), Hainan, Fujian, and Taiwan), the name is pronounced Tan. In Hakka and Taishanese, the name is spelled Gin. Some other Romanisations include Zen (from Wu), Ding (from Gan) and Chern. Chen can be variously spelt as Tan, Chan or Chin in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. Chen is commonly spelled Chang in Peru.