Ma

Ma is a common surname in China and also a widely used romanization of several names, as well as a syllable found in various languages. It appears in personal names, diaspora communities, and as part of place names in multiple countries.

In Chinese, the surname Ma is most often associated with two characters: 马/馬 meaning “horse” and 麻 meaning “hemp.” The horse character is a traditional surname with ancient origins, while the hemp character is a separate surname. Today both spellings are common among Chinese populations and in overseas communities, with distribution broad across northern and eastern China and among descendants abroad.

Notable people with the surname Ma include Ma Huateng (Pony Ma), founder of Tencent; Ma Long, a world champion table tennis player; Ma Ying-jeou, former president of Taiwan; and Ma Yun, better known as Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group. These individuals illustrate the surname’s prominence across business and sport in Chinese-speaking regions and beyond.

Beyond as a surname, “ma” is a common Mandarin syllable used as a sentence-ending particle to form yes-no questions. In English contexts, the uppercase MA serves as an abbreviation for Master of Arts or for the U.S. state of Massachusetts, among other uses, reflecting the term’s cross-linguistic versatility.