Ren (surname)

Rén is the Mandarin pinyin romanisation of the Chinese surname written 任 in Chinese script. It is romanised as Jen in Wade–Giles, and Yam or Yum in Cantonese. It is listed 58th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.^[1] As of 2008, it is the 59th most common surname in China, shared by 4.2 million people.^[2] In 2019 it was the 49th most common surname in Mainland China.^[3]

Rén (任)

Pronunciation	Rén (Mandarin) Cantonese: Jyutping: jam4, Middle Chinese: /ȵiɪmH/ Old Chinese: (Baxter–Sagart): /*n[ə]m-s/ (Zhengzhang): /*njɯms/
Language(s)	Chinese
Origin
Language(s)	Old Chinese
Other names
Variant form(s)	Yam, Yum, Jen (Mandarin Wade Giles)
Derivative(s)	Im (Korean surname)

The character 任 is typically pronounced (pinyin: rèn; Jyutping: jam6), but as a surname is pronounced "rén," as well as in Ren County in Hebei.

Ancient Surname

Rèn (妊) is a variant of the surname and one of the Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity. Unlike 任 it is a very rare surname

The Zuo Zhuan states that the surname Ren is a descendant of Fuxi's surname Fēng.

Some consider the two surnames to be related

Notable people

Self portrait of Ren Xiong

• Ren Guang (任光; died 29 AD), Eastern Han dynasty general, one of the Yuntai 28 generals
• Ren Shang (died 118), Eastern Han Protector General of the Western Regions
• Ren Jun (died 204), Eastern Han dynasty military officer
• Ren Yaxiang (died 662), Tang dynasty general and chancellor
• Ren Zhigu (fl. 692), chancellor of Empress Wu Zetian
• Ren Huan (died 927), Later Tang general and chancellor
• Ren Renfa (1254–1327), Yuan dynasty artist and irrigation expert
• Ren Xiong (1823–1857), painter of the Shanghai School
• Ren Xun (1835–1893), painter, brother of Ren Xiong
• Ren Bonian (1840–1896), painter of the Shanghai School, nephew of Ren Xiong and Ren Xun
• Ren Zhu (died 1867), Nien Rebellion leader
• Ren Fuchen (1884–1918), Soviet Red Army commander
• Ren Jinping (1896–unknown), Chinese film director
• Ren Guang (1900–1941), composer
• Ren Bishi (1904–1950), early Communist leader
• Chih-Kung Jen (Ren Zhigong; 1906–1995), Chinese-American physicist
• Yam Kim-fai (任劍輝, 1913–1989), opera actress
• Ren Mei'e (1913–2008), geologist
• Ren Zhongyi (1914–2005), Communist Party Chief of Liaoning and Guangdong province
• Ren Xinmin (1915–2017), aerospace engineer
• Ren Jiyu (1916–2009), philosopher, scholar
• Ren Rong (1917–2017), general and Communist Party Chief of Tibet Autonomous Region
• Ren Rongrong (任溶溶; 1923–2022), children's literature writer and translator
• Ren Jianxin (1925–2024), President of the Supreme People's Court of China
• Ren Zhengfei (born 1944), founder, chairman and CEO of Huawei
• Ren Wanding (born 1944), founder of Chinese Human Rights League
• Yum Sin-ling (Ren Shanning; born 1948), Hong Kong politician
• Joseph Yam (任志剛, born 1948), Hong Kong statistician
• Ren Zhiqiang (born 1951), Chinese property tycoon and critic of the government
• Gish Jen (Ren Bilian; born 1955), American writer
• Simon Yam (Ren Dahua; born 1955), Hong Kong actor
• Ren Runhou (1957–2014), former Vice Governor of Shanxi province
• Ren Jianxin (born 1959), founder and president of ChemChina
• Ren Yexiang (born 1961), actress
• Vivian Wing-Wah Yam (Ren Yonghua; born 1963), Hong Kong chemist
• Ren Xuefeng (1965–2019), Party Chief of Guangzhou and Deputy Party Chief of Guangdong and Chongqing
• Richie Jen (Ren Xianqi; born 1966), Taiwanese singer and actor
• Carolyn Ren, Chinese-Canadian microfluidics researcher
• Yam Kai-bong (任啟邦, born 1978), Hong Kong politician
• Edward Yum (Ren Liangxian; born 1979), Hong Kong politician, son of Yum Sin-ling
• Alex Yam (任梓铭, born 1981), Singaporean politician
• Selina Jen (Ren Jiaxuan; born 1981), Taiwanese singer, member of S.H.E
• Ren Hui (born 1983), female speed skater, Olympic medalist
• Ren Han (born 1984), artist
• Ren Yongshun (born 1985), football player
• Ren Cancan (born 1986), world champion female boxer
• Ren Ye (born 1986), female field hockey player, Olympic medalist
• Ren Hang (1987–2017), photographer
• Ren Suxi (born 1988), Chinese actress and singer
• Ren Hang (born 1989), football player
• Ren Xin (born 1989), football player
• Ren Jialun (born 1989), Chinese actor and singer
• Ren Junfei (born 1990), basketball player
• Ren Hao (任豪) (born 1995), Chinese singer, member of R1SE
• Ren Ziwei (born 1997), speed skater

Fictional characters

• Wuying Ren, a character from Shenmue II
• Kylo Ren, a character from the Star Wars sequel trilogy
• Hakuryuu Ren, Fourth Imperial Prince of Kou in the anime Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic and Magi: The Kingdom of Magic
• Lie Ren, a character from the American animated series RWBY

See also

• Ren (disambiguation)
• Ren (given name)
• MC Ren, rapper from the group N.W.A