Surnames
Hui people commonly believe that their surnames originated as "Sinified" forms of their foreign Muslim ancestors some time during the Yuan or Ming eras. These are some common surnames used by the Hui ethnic group:
- Ma for Muhammad
- Mu for Muhammad
- Han for Muhammad
- Ha for Hasan
- Hu for Hussein
- Sai for Said
- Sha for Shah
- Zheng for Shams
- Guo (Koay) for Kamaruddin
- Cai (Chuah) for Osman
A legend in Ningxia states that four Hui surnames common in the region - Na, Su, La, and Ding - originate with the descendants of one Nasruddin, a son of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar, who "divided" the ancestor's name (Nasulading, in Chinese) among themselves.
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