彭

In modern usage, 彭 is almost exclusively a surname in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, and Vietnam.

A compound ideograph:

壴 — an ancient drum or drum stand, associated with loud, resonant sound.

彡 — “bristles / decoration,” often depicting movement or vibration.

Together, they form the sense of a great reverberating sound, like a drum booming.

This meaning later extended as a phonetic loan to serve as a surname.

Although 彭 is rarely used in Sino-Korean compounds apart from names, it appears in:

팽씨 (彭氏) — the Peng family

팽조 (彭祖) — the legendary long-lived figure Peng Zu

팽택 (彭澤) — Pengze (place name in China)

彭祖 (팽조), or Peng Zu, is a legendary Chinese figure said to have lived over 800 years.

He appears in:

- Records of the Grand Historian (史記),

- Daoist health-cultivation texts,

- Traditional Chinese cuisine and medicine (often as an archetype of longevity).

Because of this, 彭 is a surname with strong historical prestige.

Semantic development:

Original meaning "drum sound; booming noise"

Later extended to "grand, vigorous".

Eventually borrowed as a surname, becoming the main modern meaning.

彭 is a common surname in:

Mainland China (top 50 surnames)

Taiwan

Singapore/Malaysia

Korea (rare) — transliterated as 팽

Vietnam — as Bành

Classical citations:

《史記·彭越列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「彭越者，昌邑人也。」

“Peng Yue was a man of Changyi.”

彭 as a surname.

《詩經·大雅·瞻卬》 (The Book of Songs)

「鐘鼓喈喈，彭彭鼓之。」

“The bells and drums resound—péng péng, they are beaten.”

彭彭 = onomatopoetic drum booming.

《廣雅》 (Guangya)

「彭，大也。」

“Peng means ‘great’.”