Below is a list of the top 100 most common surnames in the Teochew region:
(Update:amendments made to reflect the correct pronunciations of the following surnames - 韋, 顏, 史, 藍, 戴, 方, 倪, as well as additions of other surnames 單/单, 區/区, 查 and 費/费. Special thanks to our reader Lee Kheng Nguan for his contributions)
| Rank | Surname | Common romanisation (peng’im) | Approximate no. |
| No.1 | 陳/陈 | Tan (dang5) | 1.52 million |
| No.2 | 林 | Lim (lim5) | 1.05million |
| No.3 | 黃 | Ng (ng5) | 900,000 |
| No.4 | 吳/吴 | Goh, Gouw (ghou5) | 600,000 |
| No.5 | 鄭/郑 | Tay, Teh (dên7)* | 560,000 |
| No.6 | 李 | Lee (li2) | 540,000 |
| No.7 | 張/张 | Teo (diên1)* | 510,000 |
| No.8 | 王 | Heng (hêng5) | 430,000 |
| No.9 | 蔡 | Chua (cua3) | 420,000 |
| No.10 | 劉/刘 | Lau, Liew, Low (lau5) | 370,000 |
| No.11 | 楊/杨 | Yeo, Yeoh (iên5)* | 360,000 |
| No.12 | 許/许 | Koh, Kho (kou2) | 310,000 |
| No.13 | 謝/谢 | Chia, Seah, Chea (zia7) | 260,000 |
| No.14 | 莊/庄 | Chng (zeng1) | 230,000 |
| No.15 | 方 | Png (bung1) | 190,000 |
| No.16 | 郭 | Kueh, Koay, Quay, Kwek, Quek, Kuek (guêh4) | 190,000 |
| No.17 | 周 | Chew (ziu1) | 160,000 |
| No.18 | 曾 | Chan (zang1) | 150,000 |
| No.19 | 洪 | Ang (ang5) | 140,000 |
| No.20 | 余 | Ee, Eu (e5) | 140,000 |
| No.21 | 邱 | Khoo (ku1) | 130,000 |
| No.22 | 馬/马 | Bey, Beh, Baey (bhê2) | 130,000 |
| No.23 | 朱 | Choo (zu1) | 130,000 |
| No.24 | 賴/赖 | (nai6) | 120,000 |
| No.25 | 蕭/萧 | Seow, Siau, Siow (sieu1) | 110,000 |
| No.26 | 詹 | Cheam, Chiam (ziem1) | 110,000 |
| No.27 | 廖 | Leow, Liau, Liow (lieu7) | 110,000 |
| No.28 | 姚 | Yeo, Yeow (iê5) | 110,000 |
| No.29 | 江 | Kang (gang1) | 100,000 |
| No.30 | 羅/罗 | Lo, Loh, Lor, Low, Law (lo5) | 100,000 |
| No.31 | 蘇/苏 | Soh (sou1) | 100,000 |
| No.32 | 盧/卢 | Loh (lou5) | 100,000 |
| No.33 | 鐘/钟 | Cheng (zêng1) | 90,000 |
| No.34 | 葉/叶 | Yap (ieb8) | 90,000 |
| No.35 | 溫/温 | (ung1) | 90,000 |
| No.36 | 徐 | Chee, Cher, Cheu, Ser, Chyr, Tri (Vietnamese) (ce5) | 90,000 |
| No.37 | 沈 | Sim (sim2) | 80,000 |
| No.38 | 胡 | Oh, Aw (ou5) | 80,000 |
| No.39 | 翁 | Eng (en1) | 75,000 |
| No.40 | 潘 | Puah (puan1)* | 75,000 |
| No.41 | 彭 | Peh, Phe (pên5)* | 74,000 |
| No.42 | 孫/孙 | Sng, Soon (seng1) | 70,000 |
| No.43 | 何 | Ho (ho5) | 68,000 |
| No.44 | 杜 | Toh (dou6) | 63,000 |
| No.45 | 趙/赵 | Teo, Teoh (diên6)* | 63,000 |
| No.46 | 魏 | Gwee, Gui (ghui7) | 60,000 |
| No.47 | 鄧/邓 | Teng (dêng6) | 55,000 |
| No.48 | 高 | Ko, Kor (go1) | 54,000 |
| No.49 | 紀/纪 | Kee (gi2) | 52,000 |
| No.50 | 柯 | Quah (gua1) | 50,000 |
| No.51 | 呂/吕 | Lee, Leu, Ler (le6) | 45,000 |
| No.52 | 連/连 | Hia, Heah, Hir (hian5) | 40,000 |
| No.53 | 唐 | Tang, Tng, Tern (deng5) | 37,000 |
| No.54 | 佘 | Seah, Siah (sia5) | 36,000 |
| No.55 | 倪 | (ghoi5) | 36,000 |
| No.56 | 韋/韦 | Wee (ui5) | 36,000 |
| No.57 | 丁 | Teng (dêng1) | 36,000 |
| No.58 | 袁 | (uêng5) | 35,000 |
| No.59 | 文 | Boon (bhung5) | 33,000 |
| No.60 | 陸/陆 | Lek, Loke (log8) | 33,000 |
| No.61 | 侯 | Hau (hou5) | 32,000 |
| No.62 | 歐/欧 | Ow, Au, Aw (au1) | 32,000 |
| No.63 | 顏/颜 | Hia, Heah, Hir (hian5 or ngang5) | 30,000 |
| No.64 | 章 | (ziên1) | 29,000 |
| No.65 | 鄒/邹 | Chou, Choh (zou1) | 28,000 |
| No.66 | 藍/蓝 | Lam, Nah (na5) | 27,000 |
| No.67 | 梁 | Neo (nio5/niê5) | 26,000 |
| No.68 | 馮/冯 | Pang (bang5) | 25,000 |
| No.69 | 邢 | Hia/Heah/Hir (hian5) | 24,000 |
| No.70 | 辜 | (gu1) | 23,000 |
| No.71 | 麥/麦 | (bhêh8) | 23,000 |
| No.72 | 官 | (guan1)* | 23,000 |
| No.73 | 韓/韩 | Han (hang5) | 23,000 |
| No.74 | 戴 | Tai, Dai (do3) | 22,000 |
| No.75 | 範/范 | (huam6) | 20,000 |
| No.76 | 湯 | Tng, Teung (thng1) | 20,000 |
| No.77 | 池 | (di5) | 20,000 |
| No.78 | 卓 | Toh (doh4) | 19,000 |
| No.79 | 傅 | Poh (bou3) | 19,000 |
| No.80 | 金 | Kim (gim1) | 18,000 |
| No.81 | 房 | (bang5) | 18,000 |
| No.82 | 夏 | Hah, Hay (hê7) | 18,000 |
| No.83 | 田 | Chan, Chang(cang5) | 18,000 |
| No.84 | 秦 | Ching, Chin (cing5) | 18,000 |
| No.85 | 巫 | Boo (bhu5) | 17,000 |
| No.86 | 嚴/严 | Ngiam, Giam (ngiam5) | 16,000 |
| No.87 | 宋 | Song (song3) | 16,000 |
| No.88 | 遊 | (iu5) | 16,000 |
| No.89 | 薛 | See (sih4) | 16,000 |
| No.90 | 史 | Ser, Seu, Sze (sai2) | 14,000 |
| No.91 | 施 | (si1) | 13,000 |
| No.92 | 石 | Chioh, Cheoh (ziêh8) | 13,000 |
| No.93 | 程 | Thia (tian5) | 12,000 |
| No.94 | 曹 | Chow (cau5) | 12,000 |
| No.95 | 柳 | (liu2) | 11,000 |
| No.96 | 貝/贝 | (buê6) | 11,000 |
| No.97 | 辛 | (sing1) | 11,000 |
| No.98 | 汪 | (uang1) | 10,000 |
| No.99 | 董 | Tong (dang2) | 10,000 |
| No.100 | 古 | (gou2) | 10,000 |
Other surnames:
- 單/单 (siam5)
- 區/区 (ao1)
- 查(za1)
- 費/费(bi3)
- 覃 (cing5)
- 段 (duang6)
- 賈/贾 (gia2)
- 姜 (giang1)
- 龔/龚 (giong2)
- 顧/顾 (gou3)
- 黎 (loi5)
- 萬/万 (mog8)
- 巫許 (bhu5-kou2)
*peng-im symbol "n" indicates nasal sound.
Do let us know if you know of other forms of romanisation for any of the above surnames that should be added.
~o0o~
You may also be interested in:
- Principal Resident Surname(s) in Largest Teochew Villages - a non-exhaustive list
- Teochew Documentary: Letters of A Family On Two Shores - Two-Part Documentary on the Teochew Letters
- Teochew Dictionary on Your Mobile Phone Part 2: 潮州音字典
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Alec Hir says...
Dear Theteochewstore.org Administrator,
Please make a correction to the pronunciation of No.63 顏/颜 Hia/Heah/Hir (hian5 or ngang5)… it is incorrectly stated as “hian5” or “ngang5”.. it should be either “Hia1” or “sound similar to Hare or Heer”. Also, please delete “ngang5” which is a Cantonese or Hokkien’s pronunciation.
Thank you very much for your understanding.
Best regards,
Alec Hir
July 27, 2019
Rose chea says...
In Cambodia, the Teochew surname 谢 is romanized as Chea.
June 11, 2018
Christy Rose says...
My maternal family’s Teochew surname is romanized as Chyr, pronounced “Cher” as in #36 above. My grandparents moved to Vietnam when they got married and the spelling was changed to Tri to appear more Vietnamese but was still pronounced the same way.
June 11, 2018