FRANK CHEN

Of Germanic origin. The name referred originally to a member of the tribe of the Franks, who are said to have got the name from a characteristic type of spear that they used. When the Franks migrated into Gaul in the 4th century, the country received its modern name of France (Late Latin Francia) and the tribal term Frank came to mean ‘Frenchman’. The name is now also used as a short form of Francis or Franklin.

Chinese 陈: from name of the region of Chen (in present-day Henan province). After overthrowing the Shang dynasty and becoming the first king of the Zhou dynasty in 1122 BC, Wu Wang searched for a descendant of the great ancient emperors to guard their memory and offer sacrifices, to help retain the ‘Mandate of Heaven’, which was considered essential to remain in power. He found Gui Man, a descendant of the model emperor Shun (2257–2205 BC), and granted him the region of Chen, along with the title Marquis of Chen and one of his daughters in marriage. Gui Man was posthumously named Chen Hugong, and his descendants came to adopt the surname Chen.