The Yuan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,588 people carried this name — #4,129 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 34,400 people counted. That is up 59% from 5,394 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Yuan surname

From Mandarin 袁 (Yuán).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Yuan» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 287 people named Yuan live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Córdoba.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Córdoba 111
City of Buenos Aires 86
Buenos Aires Province 39
Santa Fe 39
Corrientes 12

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

114 people named Yuan live in Switzerland.

They live in 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 36
Vaud 26
Geneva 17
Lucerne 8
Basel-Stadt 7
Ticino 6
St. Gallen 4
Bern 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 44 people named Yuan live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Flemish Brabant.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Flemish Brabant 14
Antwerp 13
East Flanders 7
Brussels-Capital 5
Liège 5

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In the Nordic population registers

177 people named Yuan is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 177

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Yuan in American newspapers,
1911–1913.

Newspaper page from The Daily Star-mirror carrying the name Yuan
The Daily Star-mirror 1913-02-06
Newspaper page from The Daily Star-mirror carrying the name Yuan
The Daily Star-mirror 1913-02-13
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Yuan
New-york Tribune 1911-11-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 122 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Yuan in Australian newspapers,
1850s–2000s.

460 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Yuan. The most, 142, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 129
Queensland 119
Victoria 82
South Australia 39
ACT (Canberra) 36
Western Australia 23
Tasmania 18
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Yuan.

Who carried it

People named Yuan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Yuan Shuji d. 706 · judge
  • Yuan Zhihong d. 685 · judge
  • Yuan Yingtai d. 1621 · politician
  • Yuan Fangying d. 1855 · politician
  • Yuan Yin d. 199 · politician
  • Yuan Taotu d. -620 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Yuan,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States51 records

51 records of the Yuan name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 47
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1
  1. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Sam Yuan

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1888, died 1966; buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Kentucky.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Si Chen Yuan

    Born 1911 in Hang Chow, China. Entered the United States at Miami in 1949. Listed in the U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
  3. An Oregon State Board of Health certificate of death, 1910
    Example: U.S. death certificate, 1910
    Death record Chan Yuan

    Died 1946 in Staten Island, New York, aged 44.

    NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data)

Showing 3 of 51 records for Yuan in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); Certificate of death, Oregon State Board of Health, 1910, Oregon State Archives (public domain).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Yuan name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Cho Yan Sun Yuan

    Buried in 1997 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 72.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Hee Lee Yuan

    Died 1920; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Dao Yuan

    Buried in 1995 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 63.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

France3 records

3 records of the Yuan name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jingxia Yuan

    Born 1932 in China; died 2001 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Ming Yue Yuan

    Born 1919 in Vietnam; died 1992 in Blain (Loire-Atlantique).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Diana Yuan

    Born 1943 in China; died 1998 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Yuan name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  • Dutch population registers 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Yao Yuan

    Died 1957 in Rotterdam, aged 52.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Fook Yuan

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1873 in Hongkong.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Wing-Foy Yuan

    Died 1961 in Rotterdam, aged 45.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Australia2 records

2 records of the Yuan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Wei Tong Yuan

    Cafe prop of Frankston, Victoria; died 1973.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Harry Yuan

    Arrived in Victoria in 1912 aboard the Manapouri, aged 24.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Yuan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Yuan is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Yuan volume
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