Shin (Korean name)
| Shin | |
| Hangul | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | ,, |
| Revised Romanization | Sin |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sin |
Shin is a Korean family name. It is cognate to the Chinese family names Shēn and Xin. According to the 2000 census in South Korea, there were 911,556 people carrying the Shin surname.
There are three Chinese characters for the Shin surname. Between these three characters, there are five different clans. Each Shin clan descends from a different founding ancestor. One of the Shin clans traces its origins to China. Members of the various Shin clans can be found throughout the Korean peninsula.
As with other Korean family names, the holders of the "Shin" family name are divided into various clans, each known by the name of a town or city, called bon-gwan in Korean. Usually that town or city is the one where the clan's founder lived. There are three lines of Shin: (1) Pyeongsan Shin, (2) Goryeong Shin, and (3) Yeongsan Shin. Although the two clans, Pyeongsan Shin and Goryeong Shin, share the same Chinese character, they are unrelated in heritage. The third line uses the Chinese character 辛.
Pyeongsan Shin makes up about 70% of all those with the name Shin using the Chinese character 申. The clan's founder was General Shin Sung-gyeom, originally named Samneungsan without a family name, before being given a surname by King Taejo of Goryeo.
According to the family legend, one day when King Taejo and his generals went out hunting in near Pyeongsan, Taejo saw three geese flying above them, and asked his generals whether any of them can shoot the geese down. Shin Sung-gyeom volunteered and asked Taejo which one he should shoot. Taejo asked Shin to shoot the third goose by the left wing, and to Taejo's surprise, Shin completed the task. Taejo was highly impressed and gave Shin 300 gyul (ancient measurement of area) of local land, which became Shin Sung-gyeom's hometown.
Shin Sung-gyeom also saved the life of King Taejo of Goryeo during a disastrous battle with Hubaekje near present-day Daegu in the early 10th century. Taejo awarded General Shin the clan name Pyeongsang Sin, after his hometown, for his loyalty and bravery he showed in the battle. Other prominent members of this clan in more recent times include the 19th-century pansori writer Shin Jae-hyo.
...
Wikipedia