The origin of Irgen Gioro does not have a decisive conclusion. According to a famous anecdote, the ancestors of Irgen Gioro were the emperors Huizong, Qinzong, and other imperial family members of Song dynasty who were captured by the Jurchens in the Jingkang Incident of the Jin–Song wars.[16][17] The Manchu emperors had also bestowed their family name to the founding ministers or generals who rendered outstanding service to the empire.[18] In order to differentiate from Aisin Gioro the Manchu imperial family,[19] "Irgen" was added with the meaning of "regular citizen" or "common people" and the implication of "non-imperial".[20][21]
At the early period of Manchu Empire, Irgen Gioro were recorded as 340 households.[22] They mainly distributed in Muki, Yehe, Jamuhu, Singgan, Sarkū, Hunehe, Yarhū, Girin Ula, Sunggari Ula, Akuri, Fe Ala, Hada, etc.[23] The whole clan had many famous hereditary noblemen in the empire, such as Viscount First ClassArjin and Asan of Muki; Viscount Third Class Turusi, Baron Second Class Fiyangū of Yehe and so on.[24] Among these noble families, Muki Irgen Gioro (also known as "Muki Gioro"[25]) was considered as the most politically influential one because of their important contribution to the Manchu Empire's establishment.[26] Irgen Gioro also earned numerous titles of minor nobility and 40 hereditary peers as captains (Manchu: ᠨᡳᡵᡠ ᡳ ᠵᠠᠩᡤᡳᠨ, Möllendorff: nirui janggin[27]) in Banner Armies.[28]
There were few instance of name change of the clan (e.g. The Manchu clan of Bayara, Monggero, Donggo, Laibu, and Siburu came from the Irgen Gioro who settled in these places.) at the early Qing Dynasty because of migration.[29] Due to the adoption of Chinese culture during the mid to late Qing dynasty, most of Irgen Gioro chose Zhao (simplified Chinese: 赵; traditional Chinese: 趙；Manchu: ᠵᠣᡠ, Möllendorff: Joo[30]), the first surname in the famous Hundred Family Surnames, as their Chinese family name. It was according to the Chinese homophone and their anecdote of origin.[31][32][33] Other utilization of Chinese family names, such as Tong, Gu, Yi, Sa, Gong, Zhao (兆), Cao, Bao, Zhe, Xi, Yu, Ge, Ma, Gao, Hu, Bai, and Chen, are also reported.[34]
Kanda, Nobuo, ed. (1956). Manwen Laodang: Taizu. Tōyō Bunko.(in Japanese and Manchu)
Liu, Qinghua (2012). 满族姓氏综录 (A Collective Record of Manchu Family Names) (in Simplified Chinese). Liaoning Minzu. ISBN9787549702794.
Norman, Jerry (2013). A Comprehensive Manchu-English Dictionary (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series). Harvard University Asia Center; Bilingual edition. ISBN9780674072138.
Vargyas, Gábor (2015). A mártírium homályából(PDF) (in Hungarian). Pécsi Tudományegyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar Interdiszciplináris Doktori Iskola Néprajz- és Kulturális Antropológia Tudományok Program. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
