The 37^th most common last name in China. There are three main origins. 1) Descendents of Shao Hao. The grandson of Shao Hao was the kings teacher, and he had two sons, Yun Ge and Tai Dai. Tai Dai was awarded the land of ShanXi, for his achievements in fighting the flood, during Zhuan Xus reign. The descendents of Tai Dai were divided into four tribes, Shen, Yi, Ru, and Huang, known as the four kingdoms. The Shen kingdom was in RuNan of HeNan. In 506 B.C., all the northern kingdoms formed an alliance in their effort to fight the Chu kingdom. The Shen kingdom did not participate and was eliminated by the Cai kingdom. From then on, its people began to bear the last name Shen. 2) The youngest brother of Zhou Wu Wang, Ran Ji, was awarded the kingdom of Shen, for his achievement of suppressing the rebellion following his brothers death. His descendents also have the last name Shen. 3) Yet another origin came from the last name Mi. During Chun Qiu, The great grandson of Chu Jon Wang, Shu, was the governor of the town of Shen, and was known as Shen Yi Shu. Shen Yi Shu later became a high ranking official and was highly regarded because of his contribution in getting rid of corrupted officials like Fei Wu Ji and Yan Jiang Shi. His descendents also have the last name Shen.

Nan Dynasty- Shen Yue (judge)

Sui Dynasty- Shen Fa Qing, king of Liang

Tang Dynasty- Shen Jun Liang