Cheng
A common Chinese surname, usually representing several different Chinese characters and meanings depending on the family line.
The #1,063 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,361 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cheng is a romanized Chinese surname, but in English it can represent more than one Chinese name, most often different surnames written with distinct characters in Mandarin. Because the same spelling can map to several Chinese forms, there is no single fixed literal meaning for all Cheng families. In many cases the name comes from an old Chinese place name, clan name, or state name rather than from a modern descriptive word.
History
The surname is widespread among Chinese communities and is especially common in families whose names were romanized through different systems or dialects. In English-speaking countries, Cheng may reflect Mandarin pinyin, older Wade-Giles-style spellings, or Cantonese and other regional pronunciations. As a result, people with the surname Cheng may share the same romanized spelling while belonging to different ancestral lineages.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because several Chinese surnames can be romanized as Cheng, two people with the same English spelling may have completely different ancestral characters and family histories.