<p>Historically, there were waves of emigrants from Southern China to Southeast Asia since 明 dynasty (1368-1644). So, their descendants shared the same Cantonese, Hokkien surnames with people in Southern China.</p>

<p>Then, the British empire acquired Hong Kong &amp; Malaysia in the 18th century. Both governments used the same / similar romanisation scheme to register people's names in English. That's why Malaysians with Chinese origin would have a Cantonese / hokkien surname, as those in Hong Kong.</p>

<p>As far as I know, there are subtle differences:</p>

<p>陳 - Chan (hk), Tan (my)</p>

<p>黃 - Wong (hk), Ong (my)</p>

<p>Edited, adding info:</p>

<p>Several books, in literary Chinese, had info about Southeast Asia &amp; China:</p>

<p><a href="https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%9D%B1%E8%A5%BF%E6%B4%8B%E8%80%83" rel="nofollow noreferrer">東西洋考</a></p>

<p><a href="https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%A5%BF%E6%B4%8B%E7%95%AA%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%8C" rel="nofollow noreferrer">西洋番國誌</a></p>

<p><a href="https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E7%80%9B%E6%B6%AF%E5%8B%9D%E8%A6%BD" rel="nofollow noreferrer">瀛涯勝覽</a></p>

<p><a href="https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%98%9F%E6%A7%8E%E5%8B%9D%E8%A6%BD" rel="nofollow noreferrer">星槎勝覽</a></p>

<p>Read between the lines, you'll grasp the ideas :)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-06T13:18:32.170Z
Tan is Hokkien for 陳. Likewise Ong is one of the Hokkien version for 王, 汪, 黃. The other common version being Ooi/Oey. I've met Wongs and Chans in KL.
dda
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-06T05:06:17.863Z
2017-07-06T15:23:35.327Z
2017-07-06T15:23:35.327Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>The potatoes cultivation cause China population increases rapidly.  The population pressures are especially Southern China hilly area unable to sustain the population growth. </p>

<p>These are few affected district in Southern China: GuangDong, GuangXi, Hainan. </p>

<p>Since Hong Kong culture are pretty close to GuangDong, the people here mostly speak Cantonese.  </p>

<p>So Malaysia Chinese English phonetic surname pronuouce as their ancestor origins dialect, it just happens Cantonese is part of the origin traits.</p>

<p>That why you heard surname for 黄 phonetic dialect as follow:</p>

<ul>
<li>Cantonese：Wong (Wounk)  </li>
<li>Teochew : Ng, Ong (O-nk)</li>
<li>Hakka : Wong  (Waung)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-30T17:25:53.660Z
Hong Kong is considered part of Guang Dong.  The cultural difference between Hong Kong and the rest of Guang Dong is most a byproduct of the British colonization.
ckpwong
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-06T15:58:13.717Z
2017-07-06T15:58:13.717Z
mootmoot
<p>I vaguely know that Cantonese is quite widely spoken in Kuala Lumpur and the peninsular area of Malaysia.</p>

<p>Is this the reasons why many Malaysian colleagues have surnames that are common in Hong Kong? (i.e Khoo Boo <strong>Leung</strong>) </p>

<p><strong>Fong</strong> is also a surname used in Malaysia (<strong>Fung</strong> would be the Cantonese variant).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-01T00:18:03.000Z
Mandarin, Hokkien, and Hakka are more widely spoken than Cantonese in Malaysia. Cantonese is a minority; there is a large variety of Chinese languages/dialects spoken in Malaysia: Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese, Foochow, Henghua, etc. The situation differs by location: while Kuala Lumpur may prefer Cantonese, Penang prefers Hokkien.
Flux
<etymology><cantonese><names>
Why do Malaysians have Cantonese surnames?
# Why do Malaysians have Cantonese surnames?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-06)

I vaguely know that Cantonese is quite widely spoken in Kuala Lumpur and the peninsular area of Malaysia.

Is this the reasons why many Malaysian colleagues have surnames that are common in Hong Kong? (i.e Khoo Boo **Leung**)

**Fong** is also a surname used in Malaysia (**Fung** would be the Cantonese variant).

**Tags:** etymology, cantonese, names

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Mandarin, Hokkien, and Hakka are more widely spoken than Cantonese in Malaysia. Cantonese is a minority; there is a large variety of Chinese languages/dialects spoken in Malaysia: Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese, Foochow, Henghua, etc. The situation differs by location: while Kuala Lumpur may prefer Cantonese, Penang prefers Hokkien.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-06. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Historically, there were waves of emigrants from Southern China to Southeast Asia since 明 dynasty (1368-1644). So, their descendants shared the same Cantonese, Hokkien surnames with people in Southern China.

Then, the British empire acquired Hong Kong & Malaysia in the 18th century. Both governments used the same / similar romanisation scheme to register people's names in English. That's why Malaysians with Chinese origin would have a Cantonese / hokkien surname, as those in Hong Kong.

As far as I know, there are subtle differences:

陳 - Chan (hk), Tan (my)

黃 - Wong (hk), Ong (my)

Edited, adding info:

Several books, in literary Chinese, had info about Southeast Asia & China:

[東西洋考](https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%9D%B1%E8%A5%BF%E6%B4%8B%E8%80%83)

[西洋番國誌](https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%A5%BF%E6%B4%8B%E7%95%AA%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%8C)

[瀛涯勝覽](https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E7%80%9B%E6%B6%AF%E5%8B%9D%E8%A6%BD)

[星槎勝覽](https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E6%98%9F%E6%A7%8E%E5%8B%9D%E8%A6%BD)

Read between the lines, you'll grasp the ideas :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Tan is Hokkien for 陳. Likewise Ong is one of the Hokkien version for 王, 汪, 黃. The other common version being Ooi/Oey. I've met Wongs and Chans in KL.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-07-06. Score: 1

The potatoes cultivation cause China population increases rapidly. The population pressures are especially Southern China hilly area unable to sustain the population growth.

These are few affected district in Southern China: GuangDong, GuangXi, Hainan.

Since Hong Kong culture are pretty close to GuangDong, the people here mostly speak Cantonese.

So Malaysia Chinese English phonetic surname pronuouce as their ancestor origins dialect, it just happens Cantonese is part of the origin traits.

That why you heard surname for 黄 phonetic dialect as follow:

* Cantonese：Wong (Wounk)
* Teochew : Ng, Ong (O-nk)
* Hakka : Wong (Waung)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Hong Kong is considered part of Guang Dong.  The cultural difference between Hong Kong and the rest of Guang Dong is most a byproduct of the British colonization.  

---

