Kang surname meaning
A Korean and Chinese surname (강 / 姜, 康, and others); Chinese 康 links to states and a ‘healthy’ character; Korean clans use several hanja.
Confidence: Disputed. More than one origin is plausible, or sources disagree. We show the conflict rather than pick a cute answer.
The short story
Kang is a Korean and Chinese family name written with several characters. In Korean it is 강, most often 姜 (as in the large Chinju clan) but also 康, 剛, and 强. Chinese Mandarin Kang commonly represents 康, a character glossed “healthy,” with surname traditions tied to Kang Shu of the state of Wey and to Central Asian place-names such as Kang Ju and Samarkand; other characters and dialect romanizations also yield Kang. Gang is a related romanization. Place follows this catalog’s pattern for East Asian state- and clan-linked surnames, with disputed confidence because multiple characters and Korean versus Chinese streams share one Latin spelling.
Also seen as: Kang, Gang, 姜, 康, 剛, 强
- Geneanet / DAFN entry for Kang (Chinese 康/亢 and other characters; Korean 강 with 姜/康/剛/强 clans)
- Wikipedia “Kang (Korean surname)” (multiple hanja; Chinju 姜 clan and others)
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)