Origins of the Guan (官) surname
Chinese sources record 6 separate lines of origin for the Guan (官) surname. Each is summarised below with its source.
Originated from the fiefdoms enfeoffed by the Duke of Jin
A portion of the Guan (官) surname originated from the ducal house of the State of Jin (Jin Guo, 晋国), adopting the names of their enfeoffed fiefs as their surnames.
Guān (关) surname changed to Guān (官) surname
During the Huang Chao Rebellion at the end of the Tang Dynasty, Ying Gong (Ying Gong), the founding ancestor of the Guān (关) surname, fled with his grandmother to Nínghuà (宁化), Fújiàn (福建) to escape the turmoil and changed the family surname to Guān (官); most Guān (官) families in Pǔníng (普宁), Guǎngdōng (广东) and Táiwān (台湾) today descend from this lineage.
Clan names derived from official posts
In ancient times, individuals who held hereditary official posts and were granted fiefs passed down their official titles as surnames to their descendants, forming the Guan (官) surname.
Surname adoption by ethnic minorities
During the Qing dynasty and earlier, members of ethnic minorities—including the Xibe (Xibe) people with the surname Guan Jia (官加), the Manchu (Manchu) people with the surname Gua Er Jia (瓜尔佳), and the Mongol (Mongol) people with the surname Kui Mu Te (奎木特)—adopted the Han Chinese surname Guan (官). Today, the Guan (官) surname is found among the Manchu (满), Mongol (蒙), Xibe (锡伯), Tibetan (藏), Mulao (仫佬), and Yi (彝) ethnic groups.
Descendants of Zhou-dynasty officials
During the Zhou dynasty, the official Liu Dinggong (刘定公) served as Guanshi (官师), meaning 'chief of officials'; his descendants adopted this official title as their surname and revere Liu Dinggong (刘定公) as one of their founding ancestors.
Simplification of the Shangguan (上官) Surname
After the Shangguan (上官) clan migrated south to Fujian (福建) at the end of the Tang (唐) dynasty, some members simplified their compound surname into the single-character surname Guan (官).