姓氏
xìng shì · HSK 7
family name
👪 姓 surname + 氏 clan = family name
姓 itself breaks into 女 woman + 生 birth, pointing at lineage passed down a bloodline; 氏 means clan or house. Stack the two and you get the formal word for a family name.
姓 — woman radical 女 + life 生
姓 combines 女 (woman) with 生 (birth/life), reflecting ancient China's matrilineal clans where surnames passed through the mother's line. Many of the oldest Chinese surnames contain 女, such as 姜 and 姚. Today 姓 simply means 'family name' or 'surname'.