Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó
Cúáin ‘descendant of Cúán’ (see Coyne).
Chinese: from a word that means ‘coin’. During
the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) the coin official was an
important functionary in charge of currency. Descendants of a coin
official adopted the character as their surname. However,
another character, , meaning ‘all’, pronounced identically,
came to be used more often as a surname.
Chinese: from the state of Quan, which existed during the Shang
dynasty (1766–1122 bc). The name of the state is identical
to a word meaning ‘power’. The Shang king Wu Ding granted the state to
his grandson, whose descendants adopted Quan as their surname.
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from a word that means ‘coin’. During
the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) the coin official was an
important functionary in charge of currency. Descendants of a coin
official adopted the character 
from the state of Quan, which existed during the Shang
dynasty (1766–1122 bc). The name of the state is identical
to a word meaning ‘power’. The Shang king Wu Ding granted the state to
his grandson, whose descendants adopted Quan as their surname.
