Posted by Ang Andrew thomas (198.238.119.114) on May 25, 2004 at 20:06:18:
In Reply to: Re: History of the surname ANG posted by Victor ang on May 13, 2003 at 10:44:41:
ANG (洪)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Origin of the Surname ANG (洪)
I am writing the following history in the context of people looking for the origin of the surname "ANG", not necessarily the Chinese character (洪).
For those who do not know Chinese, people often surprised to find that ANG, HUNG, and HONG are really the same surname (洪), just different pronounciation.
ANG, in Fokkien, Taiwanese, or Amoy (and many more ways of referring to the dialect spoken in the southern region of China, predominately in Fujian Province.)
HONG, in Mandarin
HUNG, in Cantonese.
In the early 1900, there is a significant migration of Chinese population from coastal provinces to other parts of the world. These people are often referred to as the "Overseas Chinese", or "Wah Qiao". Many lived in enclaves by themselves, away from the local people. Many others intermarried and had children of mixed blood, eventually join in the local melting pot.
Many of the (洪) ANG clan migrated to those Southeast Asian Countries and had their name spelled as ANG, because that is the way the Chinese character (洪) sounds like in the southern dialect. The surname ANG is specially popular in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines. Many of the descendents of these people had migrated to other places such as US, Canada, Australia, and countries in Europe, carrying their last name but knowing little about where they are coming from.
If you are trying to find the surname "ANG" without knowing the chinese character (洪), it is quite difficult. Now that you know a little bit of the history, you know that it is most likely that your family had lived at some Southeast Asian countries and/or had migrated from there to your current place.
To be continued....