TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 · 字
姓
ㄒㄧㄥˋ · xìng
noun — surname, family name
字源 FORM — what the parts do
IFTshēng → xìng
Born (生) of a woman (女) — the name that comes with birth, traced through the mother line. The oldest surnames wear 女 themselves: 姜、姬. 生 doubles as the sound, worn to xìng.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
孩子生（生）下來，名字可以慢慢想——姓早就等在那裡。
The child is born (生); the given name can wait — the surname was there first.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)姓— the family name — what one is born to常用
→姓名— the full name
→百姓— the hundred surnames — the common people
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension