An Family History

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An Name Meaning

Chinese : from the name of the ancient country known in China as AnXi, located in present-day Uzbekistan. Traditional accounts record that the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc) had a grandson named An (the character for ‘peace’) who moved to the far west to establish AnXi, losing contact with the Middle Kingdom. When the people of AnXi decided to return to China during the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 ad), they adopted their tribal name, An, as their surname. Korean: there is only one Chinese character for the An surname; it means ‘peace’. Some sources indicate that there are 109 An clans, but only six can be documented. All had one common founding ancestor, named Yi W{ou}n, who migrated from China to Shilla Korea in ad 807. Yi’s three sons played a major role in resisting Japanese aggression during the reign of the Shilla King Ky{ou}ngmun (861–875) and received the surname as a reward from the king. It is now quite a common Korean surname and can be found throughout the peninsula.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Han, Tan, Pan, Yan, Fan, Gan, Wang, In, Ban, Man

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An Family Origin

Where is the An family from?

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You can see how An families moved over time by selecting different census years. The An family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1841 and 1920. The most An families were found in the USA in 1920. In 1911 there were 14 An families living in Ontario. This was about 42% of all the recorded An's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of An families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the An surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

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An Family Occupations

What did your An ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Labourer and Labourer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the CA named An. 50% of An men worked as a Labourer and 34% of An women worked as a Labourer. Some less common occupations for Americans named An were Farmer and School Teacher

View Census data for An | Data not to scale

Top Male Occupations in 1921

  • Labourer
    50%
  • Cook
    25%
  • Farmer
    25%

Top Female Occupations in 1921

  • Labourer
    34%
  • Millman
    34%
  • School Teacher
    34%

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

An Historical Records

What An family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 18,000 census records available for the last name An. Like a window into their day-to-day life, An census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1881 Canadian census records for An

Passenger List

There are 10,000 immigration records available for the last name An. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Card

There are 5,000 military records available for the last name An. For the veterans among your An ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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An Life Expectancy

What is the average An lifespan?

Between 1975 and 2004, in the United States, An life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1981, and highest in 1980. The average life expectancy for An in 1975 was 61, and 81 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for An

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your An ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous An Family Ancestors

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