Wednesday

The Origin Of Chinese Surname "GOH"

My maternal grandmother was half Chinese and half Kadazan. Her name was Goh Kuan Sim. Her father was Chinese (probably from the southern area of China) and her mother was a local originally from the Inobong area.
I was intrigued to find the origin of the Goh and its meaning. 


From my findings on the web , the surname Goh was a Min Nan transliteration of the surname "Wu" where Wu is the 10th most common surname in mainland China. The transliteration of Wu in Hakka nd Cantonese is "Ng". Wu can be translated in English as "god-like " or the "highest " . An addition for this finding , the translation for Wu in Korean is "Oh".


Taken from the Wikipedia , it is to be said that Goh is Min Nan transliteration of Wu (Woo). Min Nan is Southern Min in English. This language is widely spoken in Southern Fujian , eastern Guang Dong , Taiwan and southern Zeijiang provinces in China. The Southern Min family includes the Teochews and Hainanese.


In Malaysia ,Goh is considered as Teochews or Hokkien surname. Many Chinese immigrants that migrated to the South East  Asia were "Hoklos" from the souther Fujian . In general , the Southern Min from Southern Fujian are Hokkien ,Hokkinies and Fookien.


That's all the finding that I managed to get after hunting for information on the origin of the Goh surname. I am pleased with my findings and knowing the roots of my beloved family.