Dong
A surname with several possible origins, most likely Asian in many modern bearers, but not securely explained by the provided sources.
The #2,879 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,767 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Dong can arise from more than one language tradition. In Chinese, it commonly reflects the surname 董, which has a long independent history as a family name. In English and related European contexts, similar-looking forms may also reflect local place-names, dialect forms, or shortened spellings, but the excerpts provided do not give a clear dictionary derivation for this surname in those traditions.
History
Because the supplied excerpts are incidental mentions rather than a real headword entry, they do not establish a firm etymology. In modern usage, Dong is especially common among people of Chinese heritage, while separate, rarer lineages may exist in Europe through unrelated spelling developments. The name’s history should therefore be treated as multiple possible origins rather than one single family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In English-language records, Dong can appear identical in spelling to the Chinese surname, even when the families behind it are unrelated.
From the historical record
“their origin may be traced to the ancient Tin Bounds, as Ale and Cakes, Ding Dong, &c. Others are the result of fancy, or perhaps situation, or circum- stance, as Wheal Chance, Wheal Cost is Lost, &c.— Tregellas ('Town of the Groves'),”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)