Interpretation of the Yan (閻) Clan Totem

Definition of the Character: The original meaning of "閻" (Yan) is the gate of a residential lane or alleyway (lixiang). By extension, it carries the meaning of the neighborhood or the alley itself (similar to hutong).

Origin: The surname originates from the Ji (姬) royal surname and has two primary branches:

• 1. At the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Wu (Ji Fa) enfeoffed Yu Zhong, the great-grandson of his grand-uncle, at Yanxiang (located at the ruins of the Xia Dynasty, modern-day Pinglu, Shanxi). Yu Zhong's descendants adopted the name of this fief as their surname.

  2. During the Spring and Autumn period, Yi, the son of Duke Cheng of Jin (also of the Ji surname), was enfeoffed at Yanyi (modern-day Anyi, Shanxi). After the State of Jin fell in the mid-4th century BC, Yi's descendants dispersed across the Yellow River and Luo River regions (modern-day Luoyang and Gongyi, Henan), later settling in Xingyang and adopting the name of their fief as their surname.

• Ancestral Founder: Zhong Yi

• Ancestral Homelands: Pinglu (Shanxi); Luoyang and Xingyang (Henan)

• Prefectural Seats and Hall Names: Tianshui, Henan, Taiyuan; Youxiang Hall

• Current Rank / Population: 77th most common / Approx. 3.60 million

• Song Dynasty "Hundred Family Surnames" Rank: 327th

• Extant Genealogies: 33 volumes