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明 Ming — a rarer surname

74.9 / 100 overall fit 🔊 hear it

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Where the surname comes from

A surname meaning 'bright', from the ancient Ming state.

What the character means

Bright and clear-sighted — wisdom without murk.

Classical source：《礼记·大学》

Theme basis：明 = bright

Why it scores this way

Reads the way it looks for an English speaker — no sounds English doesn't have.

Outside the top 100 — distinctive, but some people will ask you to repeat or write it.

8 strokes — a little practice and it flows.

People who carried this name

• Ming Taizu — —
• Ming Yuzhen — Founder of the Daxia regime in the late Yuan dynasty, a rebel leader who proclaimed himself emperor in Sichuan.
• Ming Chongyan — Tang dynasty official and physician, famed for medical skills and supernatural influence at court.

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Other surnames with the same feel

中文版