Xue

Xue is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 薛 (Xuē), Hsueh in the Wade-Giles system, and Sit in the Cantonese system. In Korean, the hanja corresponds to Seol (설) and in Japanese the kanji corresponds to Setsu. According to a study published in 2006, it is the 76th most common Chinese surname. In a study by geneticist Yuan Yida on the distribution of Chinese surnames, people who carry the 薛 (Xuē) surname are most heavily concentrated in the North-Central Chinese province of Shaanxi. The surname originates from the descendants of Lord Mengchang of Qi, of the Zhou Dynasty feudal state of Xue(薛) (located within the boundaries of modern day Shandong province). Steppe nomads established numerous kingdoms in Northern China in the following centuries after the fall of the Han Dynasty and some nomads changed their surnames to Xue in the process of sinicization. Mongolic Xianbei of Northern Wei during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period of China made a change of Xianbei names to Han names, converted Chigan(叱干) to Xue(薛). The Turkic tribe Xueyantuo also possessed the surname Xue(薛).