Xiong (surname)
Chinese family name (熊)
Xiong is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 熊 (Xióng). It is 41st in the Hundred Family Surnames, contained in the verse 熊紀舒屈 (Xiong, Ji, Shu, Qu).
Romanizations
熊 is also romanized as Hsiung2 in Wade-Giles. It is Hung or Hong in Cantonese; Him in Hokkien, Hong or Yoong in Hakka; Hiōng in Gan; Hùng in Vietnamese; and Xyooj in Hmong.
Note that "Hong" and "Hung" may also refer to the unrelated surname 洪.
Distribution
熊 is the 71st most common surname in mainland China.
Although Chinese make up the largest part of the United States' population of Asian Pacific Americans, none of the romanizations of 熊 appeared among the 1000 most common surnames during the 2000 United States census.
Origins
Xiong's literal meaning is "bear".
In ancient China, it was used as a clan name by a branch of the Mi (芈), the royal family of the state of Chu. As recorded by Sima Qian, they claimed descent from Zhuanxu, a son of the Yellow Emperor in Chinese mythology, and Yuxiong (鬻熊), a tutor of the King Wen of Zhou in the 11th century BC. After the victory of the King Wu of Zhou over the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye c. 1046 BC, Yuxiong's descendants supposedly remained prominent at the Zhou court and took the surname Xiong.
The public source identifies “Xiong (surname)” as chinese family name (熊). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Xiong, surname and Chinese.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Xiong (surname)”, the useful work is to connect “chinese family name (熊)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4448523. The Library of Congress control number is sh2015001262. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1000, 2000 and 1046.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Xiong (surname)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Xiong (surname) primary sources, Xiong (surname) archive and Xiong research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Xiong (surname)”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Xiong (surname)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.