zhǎng sūn 长孙

Migration and Distribution The Changsun surname is not ranked among the top 100 surnames in the Chinese mainland or Taiwan. During the ancient Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a person named Tuoba Song among the royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Because of his great contributions, the court enfeoffed him as the royal elder, and this title could be passed down from generation to generation. When Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty was in power, he learned from Han culture and changed the Tuoba surname to the Yuan surname. Emperor Xiaowen's name was Yuan Hong. And the descendants of Tuoba Song changed their surname to Changsun, which means the descendants of the eldest branch of the royal family, and this surname also corresponds to the title of the royal elder. The prominent families of the Changsun surname are from Jiyang (now northwest of Dingtao, Shandong Province; some say northeast of Lanfeng, Henan Province). According to "Jingwang Baixingjia", the Changsun clan originated from Jiyang Commandery. During the reign of Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty, a part of Chenliu Commandery was set up as Jiyang Commandery, which is in the area of present-day Lankao County, Henan Province.