Wei

Chinese 韦: from the name of an area called Shiwei. A grandson of Peng Zu, who according to tradition lived for over 800 years and came to be a symbol of long life, was granted an area named Shiwei. His descendants adopted the second character of this name, Wei, as their surname.

Chinese 卫: from the name of the state of Wei. When the Zhou dynasty was established in 1122 BC, the new ruler Wu Wang left the conquered Shang people their capital, to rule themselves under the supervision of various Zhou appointees. The Shang convinced their overseers to revolt with them, but were soon put down by the Zhou. This time, Wu Wang put his younger brother Kang Shu, the eighth son of Wen Wang, in control of the area, naming it the state of Wei. Many descendants of Kang Shu later adopted Wei as their surname, although others adopted the name Kang (see Kang 1).