Dan Family History

Romanian; Hungarian (mainly Dán): from a short form of the Biblical personal name Daniel (Hungarian Dániel). Romanian: from a short form of the Slavic personal names Bogdan and Prodan. English (Devon and Cornwall): variant of Dann. Jewish (Israeli): from the Biblical personal name Dan a derivative of Hebrew din ‘to judge’. Vietnamese (Đan): unexplained.

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 但 meaning ‘but’ in Chinese: from another Chinese surname Dan (旦). 7: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 旦 meaning ‘dawn’ in Chinese: (i) from the personal name Dan (旦) fourth son of King Wen of Zhou (1152–1056 BC). (ii) adopted in place of another Chinese surname Huan (桓).

Some descendants changed their surname in order to avoid feud and some did it because their surname Huan happened to be personal name of Emperor Qinzong of Song (1100–1156 AD) which was taboo in ancient China. 8: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 淡 meaning ‘tasteless’ in Chinese: (i) a miswritten form of another homophonous Chinese surname 但 (see 6 above). (ii) said to be adopted as the surname by a citizen Liu Dan (劉淡) in Tongzhou (located in Shaanxi province) during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 AD) because Liu Dan hated an atrocious eunuch called Liu Jin and did not want to bear the same surname with Liu Jin.

As a result he changed his surname to his personal name Dan (淡). 9: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 丹 meaning ‘red' in ancient Chinese: (i) said to be traced back to Dan Zhu the eldest son of the legendary Emperor Yao (c. 24th century BC) who was granted with a fief along the Dan River (located in present-day Henan province). (ii) a surname traced back to other minority ethnic groups in ancient northern China such as the Hui Manchu and Tangut people.

10: Japanese: variously written as 段 ‘terrace’ (if topographic) or ‘rank’; 団 or 團 both ‘group’; 檀 ‘sandalwood’; 壇 ‘dais’ or ‘altar’; or 旦 ‘dawn’ (Chinese in origin). All of these tend to be found in central and western Honshū and in Kyūshū.