Wan Family History

14-Day Free Trial

GET STARTED

Wan Name Meaning

Chinese : from a place name, Wan City, that existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) in Shaanxi province. Descendants of a marquise who was granted the territory adopted the city name as their surname. Chinese : variant of Wen 1. Chinese : variant of Yin 1. Dutch: occupational name for a maker or seller of winnowing fans, from Latin vannus. Scottish: variant of Wann.

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


Similar surnames: Yan, Man, Pan, Han, Wang, Kan, Fan, Tan, Wen, Gan

Ready to discover your family story?

Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.

Wan Family Origin

Where is the Wan family from?

Mapbox
© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map
You can see how Wan families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Wan family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Wan families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 52 Wan families living in British Columbia. This was about 61% of all the recorded Wan's in Canada. British Columbia had the highest population of Wan families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Wan surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Wan

Wan Family Occupations

What did your Wan ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Cook and Commis were the top reported jobs for men and women in the CA named Wan. 10% of Wan men worked as a Cook and 25% of Wan women worked as a Commis. Some less common occupations for Americans named Wan were Clerk and Restaurant

View Census data for Wan | Data not to scale

Top Male Occupations in 1921

  • Cook
    10%
  • Laborer
    8%
  • Laundryman
    8%
  • Clerk
    5%

Top Female Occupations in 1921

  • Commis
    25%
  • Farmer
    25%
  • Housek
    25%
  • Restaurant
    25%

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

Wan Historical Records

What Wan family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 11,000 census records available for the last name Wan. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Wan 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 Wan

Passenger List

There are 19,000 immigration records available for the last name Wan. 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.

View all Wan immigration records

Draft Card

There are 6,000 military records available for the last name Wan. For the veterans among your Wan ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Wan military records

You've only scratched the surface of Wan family history.

Discover More

Wan Life Expectancy

What is the average Wan lifespan?

Between 1962 and 2004, in the United States, Wan life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1972, and highest in 1986. The average life expectancy for Wan in 1962 was 65, and 77 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Wan

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Wan 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 Wan Family Ancestors

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in your family tree

Famous ancestors img
Look up another name