Tan, the pinyin romanization of 譚, is the 67th most common surname in China. The surname Chen ((陈/陳)) based on the various Min dialects is also Romanized as "Tan".
Two origins have been suggested for the Tan surname:
The surname came from the ancient State of Tan which was located in the western part of what is now Shandong Province. During the Spring and Autumn period, this state was conquered by the neighbouring State of Qi. The court changed their surname to Tan in remembrance of their defeated homeland, and later prospered in Hunan Province.
The surname came from the less common surname 談, another with the same pronunciation in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese Chinese. In order to avoid the revenge of their enemies, the clan leaders changed it to 譚.
A study by geneticist Yuan Yida has found that people with either of the two Tan surnames are especially concentrated in Hunan Province which would tend to support these accounts. This does not mean that they are the most common surnames in that province.
Romanisation and pronunciation
Tan is the Chinese character's Hanyu Pinyin romanisation in Mandarin Chinese. It is pronounced and romanised differently in different languages and dialects.
In Cantonese Chinese, it is romanised as Taam4 in Jyutping and Tàahm in Cantonese Yale. It is romanised as Tam in Hong Kong and Macao.
In Toisanese Chinese, it may be romanised as Tom, Thom, Hom, Ham or Hum.
In Hokkien Chinese, Teochew Chinese and Hainanese Chinese, it is romanised as Thâm in POJ.
In Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, it is sometime romanised as Tham.
In Vietnamese, it is romanised as Đàm.
In Filipino and other Philippine languages, it is romanised as Tan.
Alan Tam (譚詠麟)
Tam Bing Man (譚炳文)
Tam Kung (譚公)
Patrick Tam Kar Ming (譚家明)
Patrick Tam Yiu Man (譚耀文)
Roman Tam (譚百先, stage name 羅文)
Tam Yiu-chung (譚耀宗)
Amy Tan (譚恩美)
Tan Chi-chung (born 1990), Taiwanese Olympic weightlifter
Tan Dun (譚盾)
Tan Haoxuan (譚昊轩)
Tan Sitong (譚嗣同)
Tan Zhenlin (譚震林)
Tan Thiam Ong, CEO of HPE cyberjaya
Jason Tom (譚志豪)
Kiana Tom
Curtis Tom
William Tom
Ken Hom (譚榮輝), American chef
Bei Hou
