kuan

Kuan is a transliteration used in English-language texts for several East Asian names, most often of Chinese origin. As a surname or part of a given name, Kuan is typically a rendering from older romanization systems such as Wade-Giles rather than the modern pinyin standard.

The precise meaning of Kuan depends on the Chinese character being transliterated. Common surnames that can appear as Kuan in some spellings include 關 (often rendered as Guan in pinyin), 管 (Guan), and 關/關 combination forms; another well-attested occurrence is 觀 (Guán in Mandarin), as in Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion, which appears in historical texts as Kuan-yin. In practice, Kuan has been used in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and among overseas Chinese communities as a family name. In other languages and dialects, similar-sounding spellings may arise independently.

Because Kuan is not tied to a single character, it can refer to multiple people or topics depending on context. In modern contexts, most English-language references to individuals named Kuan clarify the associated Chinese character, the pronunciation in Mandarin, and the family lineage if known.