Tan (surname)

For the surname 陈/陳, romanized as Tan in Hokkien/Teochew, see Chen (surname). For the surname 秦, see Qin (surname).
Tan (譚/谭)
PronunciationTan (Hokkien Chinese and Mandarin Chinese)
Tan (Japanese)
Dam (Korean)
Đàm (Vietnamese)
Tam (Cantonese Chinese and Hakka Chinese)
Tham (Hokkien Chinese and Teochew Chinese)
Ham, Hom, Hum, Tom, Thom (Toisanese Chinese)
LanguageChinese, Japanese
Origin
Region of originChina, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam
Tan
Traditional Chinese譚
Simplified Chinese谭
Transcriptions

Tan is a common Chinese surname 譚. It is the 56th most commonly borne surname in China.[1]

Origin

Two origins have been suggested for the Tan surname:[2]

A study by geneticist Yuan Yida has found that people with either of the two Tan surnames are especially concentrated in Hunan Province which would tend to support these accounts. This does not mean that they are the most common surnames in that province.[1]

Romanisation and pronunciation

Tan is the Chinese character's Hanyu Pinyin romanisation in Mandarin Chinese. It is pronounced and romanised differently in different languages and dialects.[3]

Prominent people

Tam

Tham

  • Avvir Tham Pac Lun (谭柏伦, born 2004), Singaporean diver who became the first Singaporean man in 60 years to win a SEA Games diving gold medal (2025)[4] and competed for Singapore at the 2022 Asian Games[5].

Tan

  • Amy Tan (譚恩美, born 1952), American writer
  • Juan José Tan (born 1944), Peruvian football manager
  • Lewis Tan (born 1987), English actor
  • Meryem Tan (born 1999), Turkish wheelchair basketball player
  • Tan Dun (譚盾, born 1957), Chinese composer and pianist
  • Tan Jing (谭晶, born 1977), Chinese singer, philanthropist and congresswoman
  • Karen Tan Puay Kiow (born 1962), Singaporean army officer
  • Melinda Tan, British academic
  • Milagrosa Tan (1958–2019), Filipina politician
  • Shaun Tan (born 1974), Australian author and illustrator
  • Tan Sitong (譚嗣同, 1865–1898), Chinese politician
  • Tan Songyun (谭松韵, born 1990), Chinese actress
  • Tan Sui Hoon (born 1963), Malaysian badminton player
  • Tan Yankai (譚延闓, 1880–1930) Chinese politician and Premier of the Republic of China.
  • Yuanyuan Tan (譚元元, born 1977), Chinese ballet dancer; Principal Dancer at the San Francisco Ballet
  • Tan Yuanchun (譚元春, 1586–1637), Chinese scholar
  • Tan Zhenlin (譚震林, 1902–1983), Chinese politician
  • Tan Zhonglin (譚鍾麟, 1822–1905) Qing dynasty scholar-official. Governor and viceroy of Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces.
  • Tan Zhongyi (谭中怡, born 1991), Chinese chess grandmaster
  • Kirsten Danielle Tan Delavin (born 1999), Filipino former actress and model

Tom

Hom

  • Tom Hom (born 1927), American politician
  • Ken Hom (born 1949), American chef
  • Sharon Hom (born 1951), Hong Kong-born American human rights law professor
  • Alice Y. Hom (born 1967), American LGBTQ community activist

Clan villages

See also

References

  1. ^ a b China Renews Top 100 Surnames, Li Still the Biggest, People's Daily online (English), 11 January 2006
  2. ^ In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames by Sheau-yueh J Chao, published by Clearfield Co, Baltimore 2000.
  3. ^ A Practical English-Chinese Pronouncing Dictionary: English, Chinese Characters, Romanized Mandarin and Cantonese by Janey Chen, Tuttle Publishing, Hong Kong 1992.
  4. ^ "Avvir Tham becomes first Singaporean man to win SEA Games diving gold in 60 years". Channel NewsAsia. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  5. ^ "跳水 THAM Avvir Pac Lun". Hangzhou 2022 (in Chinese). Olympic Council of Asia. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
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