Ma surname meaning
A Chinese surname 馬/马, “horse,” chiefly from the Mafu fief or title of Zhao She in Warring States Zhao; also other Chinese and non-Chinese Ma origins.
Confidence: Disputed. More than one origin is plausible, or sources disagree. We show the conflict rather than pick a cute answer.
The short story
Ma is most often the Mandarin form of Chinese 馬 (simplified 马), literally “horse.” The main Han lineage comes from Mafu (馬服), a fief or honorific linked to Zhao She of the Warring States Zhao polity; descendants shortened Mafu to Ma. DAFN lists further Chinese grants and non-Han adoptions of the same character, plus unrelated short Roman surnames that coincide as Ma. Cantonese and other dialect spellings include Mah. Place fits the Mafu-fief origin that underpins the largest Chinese Ma stream, but the many other Ma sources keep confidence disputed.
Also seen as: Ma, Mah, Mar, Maa
- Ancestry / DAFN entry for Ma (Chinese 馬 horse; Mafu fief of Zhao She; other Chinese and non-Chinese senses)
- Wikipedia “Ma (surname)”
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)