Posted by Raymond (72.234.176.180) on September 20, 2007 at 02:59:35:
In Reply to: where does tam come from? posted by mikel on September 19, 2007 at 14:28:34:
Mikel,
Assuming that your father's surname is Tam, your mother's maiden name is likely to have no bearing on the Tam surname.
�Tis the traditional Chinese character for your Tam name. ̷ is the simplified Chinese character for your name.
Tan2 is the Mandarin Chinese notation for your surname in Pinyin, and T'an (Tan) is the Mandarin Chinese for your name in Wade-Giles.
Taam4 is Cantonese Chinese notation for your surname in Jyutping; Tam is Cantonese Chinese for your name in Yale/penkamp; and Tom is another Cantonese spelling for your surname.
Finally, Hom is yet another way of spelling your surname.
The following website is the basis for the above information: http://www.fact-index.com/c/ch/chinese_family_name.html
For detailed and complete information on the Tom/Tam surname, see the website: http://mysite.verizon.net/vzepzaui/index.html
Hope this helps in your school project.
Good luck,
Raymond