Men Family History

Jewish (from Ukraine): from the Yiddish male personal name Men, a pet form of either Mendel or Biblical Menachem.

Cambodian: written ម៉ែន and មិន, both probably of Chinese origin but with unexplained etymology.

Chinese: The Mandarin form of the surname 門 meaning ‘doors or gates’. It is (i) borne by descendants of certain nobles of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC) since they were allowed to enter the royal palace through the main gate.

It is also (ii) derived from the post name Men (門) in the state of Song during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC), equivalent to the modern term ‘guards’. Additionally, it is (iii) associated with descendants of nobles in the state of Qi during the same period.

Lastly, it was (iv) adopted as a surname by the Chi Men (叱門), Tu Men (吐門), and Ku Men (庫門) families from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD).