Pronunciation /kwʌ̹n/ | Language(s) Korean | |
Kwon (권) is a Korean family name. Some sources list as many 56 clans, but most of them were merged with the Andong Kwon clan under the Sijeung-gong faction soon after the establishment of the Republic of Korea.
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Andong Kwon clan
The Andong Kwon clan was founded by a Silla aristocrat named Kim Haeng (金幸) who helped Wang Geon, the founder of the Goryeo Kingdom, establish himself as ruler in 918. The new king bestowed upon Kim Haeng a new surname: Kwon (權), meaning ‘authority’ or 'power'. Wang Geon also gave the aristocrat taxation rights for the towns in the Andong region, hence the clan name. The Andong Kwon clan has one of the oldest extant printed genealogies in East Asia, and this clan became the most famous family in Korea through Goryeo and Joseon kingdom.
Yecheon Kwon clan
One account has it that the Yecheon Kwon clan’s original surname was Heun (昕). However, in 1197, the name Heun (昕) was chosen as the posthumous name for the Goryeo kingdom's King Myeongjong. To avoid the use of a king’s posthumous name, the Heun(昕) family were directed to change their name to Kwon (權). The head of the Heun clan at this time became Kwon So, the founding ancestor of the Yecheon Kwon clan. Approximately two thirds of all present-day Kwon clan members live in the Gyeongsang provinces. All members of the Heun(昕) clan disappeared before the founding of Joseon.
Another account states that the Yecheon Heun (昕) clan's Jeoksin, Suchang, Seungdan, and Seungjo married into the Andong Kwon Clan and afterward their descendants took their mothers' surname Kwon (權). Yecheon Kwon clan called an Obongmun (五福門) in late Goryeo.