Honan
name ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Alternative form of Henan, in its various senses. alt-of, alternative, dated
"THe fifth Province of Honan, hath receiv'd its Name from the Situation of the place, for Honan ſignifies The South ſide of a River ; for it lies on the South Shore of the Yellow River, which flowing from Eaſt to Weſt, ſeparates it from the Province of Xanſi and Peking, though to the Eaſt, toward the ſide of Peking it hath ſome Towns."
- 2 A surname from Irish.
Example
More examples"THe fifth Province of Honan, hath receiv'd its Name from the Situation of the place, for Honan ſignifies The South ſide of a River ; for it lies on the South Shore of the Yellow River, which flowing from Eaſt to Weſt, ſeparates it from the Province of Xanſi and Peking, though to the Eaſt, toward the ſide of Peking it hath ſome Towns."
Etymology
From the Postal Romanization of the Nanking court dialect Mandarin 河南 (Hénán, literally “[land] south of the river”).
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó hEoghanáin (“descendant of Eoghanán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive of Eoghan.
More for "honan"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.