Mi Family History

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 米 which means ‘rice’: (i) from one of the ‘Nine Sogdian Surnames’ also known as ‘nine surnames of Zhaowu’ because their ancestors came from Zhaowu, an ancient city in present-day Gansu province in northwestern China. During the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–987 AD) there were nine Sogdian states in Central Asia, one of which was called Mi (米) in Chinese (located in present-day Uzbekistan). Between 649 and 655 AD, these states submitted to the Emperor Gaozong of Tang (628–683 AD). Immigrants from the state of Mi to China acquired the surname 米.

(ii) For some families, the surname is borne by descendants of Mi Fu (米芾), an artist in the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127 AD) who claimed he was a descendant from the royal families of the state of Chu in the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) and changed his original surname 芈 to 米, a different Chinese character with the same pronunciation.

The Mandarin form of the surname 宓 (also pronounced as Fu in Mandarin): (i) said to be borne by descendants of Fu Xi (伏羲), a legendary figure prior to the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (ii) said to be traced back to Mi Kang Gong (密康公, also written as 宓康公), Duke Kang of Mi, who died in 922 BC, ruler of the state of Mi during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC).

The Mandarin form of the surname 密, meaning ‘secret’ in Chinese: (i) from the first element of Mi Xu (密須), the name of an ancient state (located in present-day Gansu province) during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC). (ii) from Mi (密), the name of a state (originally located in present-day Gansu province, later moved to Mixian in present-day Henan province) during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC).

(iii) From the placename Mi (密), the name of two fiefs (located in Shandong province) in the state of Lu and the state of Ju respectively. (iv) a surname from the Tangut ethnic group in northwestern China. The Mandarin form of the surname 秘 (also pronounced as Bi or Bei in Mandarin) see Bi.