Pan Family History

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 潘 meaning ‘rice water’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from the placename Pan (潘) a fief (located in present-day northwestern Shangqiu in Henan province) that was granted to Ji Sun son of Bi Gong Gao (Duke of Bi the 15th son of King Wen of Zhou 1152–1056 BC). (ii) borne by descendants of Pan Chong (潘崇) a noble in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) adopted as a surname by the Po Duo Luo (破多罗) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). (iv) adopted as a surname by Pan Shao (潘紹) who changed his original surname Zhao to Pan during the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368 AD). Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 盤 denoting ‘washbasin’ or ‘plate’ in ancient Chinese: said to be borne by descendants of Pan Hu (盤瓠) an ancient legendary figure. They were originally scattered around the present-day southern Sichuan province and later migrated to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdong province. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 泮 meaning‘side'or ‘waterside' in Chinese: possibly derived from a placename (said to be name of a place in the state of Wey (衛) during the Spring and Autumn period 770–476 BC). Chinese: Cantonese and alternative Mandarin form of the surname 班 see Ban 6. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 彭 see Peng Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 范 see Fan 7: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 賓 see Bin 8: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 馮 possibly based on its Hokkien or Teochew pronunciation see Feng 9: Korean: there are two Chinese characters for this surname; only one of them however is common enough to warrant treatment here. There are three clans which use this character: the Kisŏng (also called the Kŏje) the Kwangju and the Namp’yŏng. The founding ancestors of these clans were Koryŏ (918–1392) figures and it is widely believed that they were related. Compare Ban 9.10: Amerindian (Guatemala and Mexico): Mayan name from pan ‘flag banner’.1 Spanish: metonymic occupational name for a baker or a pantryman from pan ‘bread’ (from Latin panis).1 English and Dutch: metonymic occupational name for someone who cast or sold pans from Middle English Middle Dutch panne ‘pan’.1 Ukrainian Rusyn Sorbian and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic); Czech and Slovak (Pán): from Ukrainian Sorbian and Yiddish pan Czech and Slovak pán ‘lord master landowner’ hence a nickname for a haughty person. The Sorbian surname is found mainly in a Germanized form Pahn.1 Ukrainian and Rusyn: from a short form of the personal name Panteleymon (Greek Panteleēmōn; see Pantaleo ) and also of some other names beginning with Pa(n)-.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022