Wang is the most common surname in China and means prince or king. Also used as Wong, Hong or Heng, the name has its roots in two ancient houses of China, the Zi and the Ji.

The earliest record of the name Wang comes from the late Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BC). The uncles of the violent emperor Shang Zhou tried to temper the monarch's behavior and one of them was killed for his interference. Some of the descendants of this man, Bi Gan of the Zi clan, adopted the surname of Wang to denote their princely lineage. Bi Gan's full story can be read under the surname Lim here at AW.

Ji was the family name of the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty (1045-256 BC), and it is from this branch that most of the present day Wangs trace their heritage. In the mid-500s, the crown prince Jin was stripped of his inheritance when he tried to influence his father's actions. Because of his royal origins, he and his clan adopted the surname Wang. During the Warring States Period prior to the Qin unification of China in 221 BC, General Wang Cuo enabled the Wang clan to reclaim its position of importance.

Wang is also a rarer Korean surname which originated during the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-935 AD). Again denoting royalty, the name stems from Wang Geon, who established the Goryeo ruling family and who was historically known as King Taejo. Wang Geon's success was predicted when he was but a child by a Buddhist monk.

Vang is the Hmong version of Wang in southeast Asia, still denoting royalty. The Vietnamese use Vuong, and in Indonesia it is spelled Heng or Ong.


Sources:
utopian.net
Wikipedia: Wang

~Contributed by Feiyan Zhou