Tag: Ahn

Ahn, also romanized An, is a Korean family name. It literally means “tranquility.” In 2000, there were 637,786 people bearing this surname in South Korea , making it the 20th most common family name in the country, with roughly 2% of the country’s population. North Korea does not release figures for surnames, but the percentage is expected to be similar.
The surname is also used in China.
In the traditional Korean clan system, which is still the basis of family registry in South Korea, each clan is distinguished by its bon-gwan, the notional ancestral seat of the clan. Typically each clan claims a different person as its founder, although there are exceptions. 109 Ahn clans are extant today. However, most of these are very small. The majority of Ahn’s claim membership in the Sunheung Ahn clan (the highest and most noble clan of Ahn’s). The Kwangju and Juksan clans are also quite large and are associated with “blue-blood” status; in addition to these, the Tamjin, Gongsan, Chungju,…