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Post by ptanchuan on May 20, 2024 0:04:44 GMT -5
Hello! I’m from the Philippines. I would like to learn about my genealogy. Do you happen to know any information about my surname ‘Tanchuan’? My aunties in Hong Kong said we have Chinese ancestors who left China for the Philippines a long time ago. I would appreciate any insights or leads you could share. Thank you so much!
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Post by gckimm on May 20, 2024 18:49:44 GMT -5
Hi:
You may be aware that there are many Filipinos of Chinese descent with the surname Tan, which is usually the Fujian (Hokkien) dialect version of the surname Chen (Mandarin) or Chan/Chun (Cantonese) 陳. Filipino multi-syllable surnames that start with Tan are usually derived from the name of a Tan ancestor and (usually) contain the surname Tan + a personal name + "co" (Hokkien for "brother"). An example would be the Filipino surname Tanlimco: surname Tan + personal name Lim + "co." Your surname would be a little unusual because there is no "co" at the end. But you probably had an ancestor by the name of Tan, with a personal name that sounded something like Chuan.
Greg
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Post by ptanchuan on May 21, 2024 12:31:08 GMT -5
Thanks Greg! Do you think ‘Chuan’ could’ve been derived from ‘Yuan’ or any other similar-sounding name? Whenever I look Tanchuan up on the net, I always find search results pointing to just Tan Chuan, not Tanchuan. Also, where I grew up, there aren’t many Tanchuans around. Tanchuan isn’t even in the Top 200 most common surnames of my town, let alone of my province!
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Post by gckimm on May 21, 2024 13:24:31 GMT -5
Hi:
The surname Tanchuan may be limited to you and your family members. Again, my guess is that it is derived from the name of some ancestor, whose surname was Tan and personal name was Chuan (or something sounding similar to that). He may have been the first of your family to move to the Philippines. Filipino genealogy is difficult because there are not a lot of records. Talk to your relatives and see if they can give you any other clues. Also, look for family graves to see if there are any Chinese characters on them.
Greg
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Post by ptanchuan on May 21, 2024 21:53:04 GMT -5
I already asked about it from my elders, and I only got inconsistent answers, prompting me to look for leads somewhere else. It turns out not much has been relayed to them, as my grandfather (Tanchuan) was orphaned at an early age. His auntie, Maria Tanchuan (later Maria Tanchuan Guanzon), adopted and raised him. Maria Guanzon used to be one of the richest in town, owning swathes of land in different places across the province. My elders claim we have Chinese ancestors, but they could hardly prove it. On a different note, is Guanzon a Filipino-Chinese surname? Thanks a lot!
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Post by gckimm on May 22, 2024 21:04:25 GMT -5
Hi:
According to a quick internet search, the surname Guanzon is also of Chinese origin but the meaning is clearer than Tanchuan. There are many Filipino surnames of Chinese origin ending in "zon." This part of the name is derived from the Hokkien pronunciation of the Mandarin "sun" (孫), meaning "grandson" or "descendant." "Guan" is probably the Chinese surname Guan (also Guan in Mandarin). So Guanzon means "grandson/descendant of Guan."
Greg
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