An
A short surname with several possible East Asian origins, most often from Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese family names written in Roman letters as An.
The #4,353 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,836 Americans shares it.
Etymology
An is a romanized surname found in more than one East Asian naming tradition, so it does not have a single universal origin. In Chinese it commonly represents the surname 安, meaning “peace” or “safety.” In Korean it usually reflects 안 (An), and in Vietnamese it may represent the same Chinese character-based surname tradition or a related local spelling.
History
Because the same Roman spelling can come from different languages, the surname An is found in several immigrant communities rather than tracing to one family line worldwide. In the United States it is especially associated with Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese arrivals in the 20th century and later. The spelling is often a transliteration rather than a native English surname with one fixed meaning.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Chinese tradition, the character 安 is one of the common surname characters that also carries a very positive everyday meaning: “peace” or “calm.”