chinese family names come from a poem

The first known people to acquire surnames were the Chinese. Legends suggest that the Emperor Fushi decreed the use of surnames, or family names, about 2852 BC. The Chinese customarily have three names. The surname is placed first and comes from one of the 438 words in the sacred Chinese poem Po-Chia-Hsing. The family name is followed by a generation name, taken from a poem of 30 characters adopted by each family. The given name is then placed last.

Found with the google query "chinese family names come from a poem" at http://www.mayrand.org/meaning-e.htm

Additional information

The Generation Name Poem (班次聯), http://www.legacy1.net/generation.html

Chinese Family Names, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_family_name