Pun (surname)

Pun

Language(s)	Chinese, English, Magar or Magar Kham
Other names
Variant form(s)	Chinese: Pan, Poon

Pun is a surname. It may be:

• A surname of the Magar people in Nepal (पुन) ^[1]
• An English surname of unexplained origin ^[2]
• A Cantonese spelling of the Chinese surname transcribed as Pān in Hanyu Pinyin ( 潘 ). ^{[2] [3]} This surname has deep historical roots, dating back to Pan Chong, a noble of Chu, ^[4] from a cadet branch of the ruling House of Mi, ^[5] and Ji Sun, a descendant of King Wen of Zhou. ^{[6] [7]}

According to statistics cited by Patrick Hanks, there were 783 people with this surname on the island of Great Britain and six on the island of Ireland as of 2011. ^[2] The 2010 United States census found 1,197 people with the surname Pun, making it the 21,736th-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 861 people (26,614th-most-common) in the 2000 census. In both censuses, more than four-fifths of the bearers of the surname identified as Asian. ^[8]

Notable people with this surname include:

• Kabir Pun, IOM, Nepali, Gorkha Havildar (British Indian Army) received the Indian Order of Merit - 1st class (equivalent to the Victoria Cross as native soldier were not eligible for VCs until the World War 1) during the British expedition to Tibet (1903–4) Pun and Grant's broke the wall of Gyantse Dzong and captured Gyantse Fortress. (Pun and Grant's actions are described in Grant's VC citation - Treaty of Lhasa 1904)
• Tul Bahadur Pun, VC (1923–2011), Nepali, Royal Gurkha Rifles (British Gurkha soldier), Honorary Lieutenant, recipient of the Victoria Cross and Burma Star. He is from Myagdi district, Nepal
• Om Prasad Pun (born 1942), Nepali boxer
• Narayan Singh Pun (1949–2008), Nepali politician, Cabinet Minister, former King's trusted Minister and Chief Negotiator, pilot (helicopter Wing Commander and chief training officer) Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Nepal Army, founding President of Nepal Samata Party. He was born in Myagdi, Nepal
• Serge Pun (潘繼澤; born 1953), Burmese businessman of Chinese descent. Founder of Serge Pun & (Hong Kong) Ltd, Chairman of (SPA Group), multi-national Real estate firm and Yoma Bank (Burma-largest Private Bank)
• Mahabir Pun (born 1955), Nepali teacher, social entrepreneur, Magsaysay Award (Nobel Prize of Asia) winner for extending wireless technologies in rural parts of Nepal, web (wireless) pioneers of Nepal. He is from Myagdi district.
• Pun Kwok-shan (潘國山; born 1961), Hong Kong politician
• Nanda Kishor Pun (born 1966), Nepali politician, First Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nepal, former Chief Commander of the People's Liberation Army
• Barsaman Pun (born 1971), Nepali politician, former Minister of Energy, Water Resource & Irrigation and Finance Minister, former Deputy Commander of People's Liberation Army and Leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre)
• Dipprasad Pun, CGC (born 1980), Nepali sergeant of the Royal Gurkha Rifles (British Army), recipient of the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross
• Sagar Pun (born 1993), Nepali cricketer
• Pun Wai-yan (潘慧欣; born 1995), Hong Kong rugby union player
• Raymond Pun (潘宏), American research librarian
• Pun Sing-lui (潘星磊), Hong Kong performance artist

See also

• Zein Pun (1295–1330), King of Martaban (Burma) for one week in 1330 ^{[Note 1]}

Notes

1. Burmese names do not have surnames

References

1. Noonan, Michael (2008). "The politicization of language in west-central Nepal". In Saxena, Anju; Borin, Lars (eds.). Lesser-Known Languages of South Asia: Status and Policies, Case Studies and Applications of Information Technology. Walter de Gruyter. p. 173. ISBN   9783110197785.
2. Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter, eds. (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. p. 2179. ISBN   9780192527479.
3. "Family name origins & meanings - Pan surname is also Romanized as Poon, Pun". FamilyEducation.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
4. Patrick Hanks. "Pan Family History - (ii) borne by descendants of 'Pan Chong' a noble in the state of Chu". Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, 2022.
5. "Yutopian, origin of the surname Pan, Poon". www.yutopian.com. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
6. Patrick Hanks. "The meaning of Pan". Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2022.
7. "Pan Surname Origins (Pun, Poon in Cantonese), can trace its roots back to Ji Sun, a grandson of King Wen of Zhou". www.mychinaroots.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
8. "How common is your last name?". Newsday. Long Island. Retrieved 5 September 2018.