Meaning of Last Name

Ma (simplified: 马; traditional: 馬; pinyin: mǎ) is one of the most common Chinese family names. As of 2006, it ranks as the 14th most common Chinese surname in Mainland China and the most common surname within the Chinese Muslim community. [http://www.colorq.org/MeltingPot/article.aspx?d=Asia&x=ChineseWestAsians#muslims] However, this surname should not be identified with the Korean surname 'Ma' which shares the same pronunciation with the Chinese 'Ma' but has its own distinct history. This surname literally means "horse". The offspring of Zhao She adopted "Ma" (馬), the first word of the district Ma Fu, as their surname. Variant spellings of "Ma" include "Mah", "Beh" and "Mar". Chinese Muslims commonly adopted Ma as the translation for their surname Muhammad. for e.g. Ma Jian, Ma Benzhai, Ma clique.date=May 2010