Ning (surname)

Ning is the romanisation of the Chinese surnames 寧 Níng and its variant 甯 Nìng. After the introduction of simplified characters, both names were written as 宁 in mainland China until 2000, when the character 甯 was restored as an accepted variant for people whose family had originally used that character. However, usage of 甯 remains rare, with most continuing to use 宁. As a first name, it is a name suitable for both genders, but more commonly masculine. Its literal meaning is "peaceful". The surname appears in the Hundred Family Surnames, but is relatively uncommon in modern times. In 2008, research by the Chinese Office of Public Security estimated that around 710,000 people in China shared the surname 宁, making it the 173rd most common surname in the People's Republic of China. Worldwide, the number of people with the surname Ning may be over 800,000.