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Wong is the Cantonese and Hakka romanisation or romanization of the Chinese surname Huang (黃; pinyin: Huáng; literally "yellow").
The use of Wong as a surname started in 648 BC when the Huang Kingdom located in Henan Province of China was sacked.
The Huang Kingdom was a legacy state established and governed by the beloved royal descendants of the ruthless Qinshihuang who unified the area known as China today as the "Ch'in" or (Qin) State. By royal decree, all the citizens adopted the name of their King and their Kingdom as their surname in remembrance of their origin.
From Henan, Huang people, together with others, dispersed all over China and eventually to all corners of the globe. As a result, there is a tiny branch of those with this surname who are members of the first royal dynasty of China while most of others were the subjects or citizens of this ancient state.
Historically, it is commonly held that a sub-group of the Han Chinese originating from northern China settled in a place in Qin State (Henan). These people's origins could be related to the Xiongnu nomadic people, who had a considerable, dominating presence in parts of northern China from the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) period to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589). They have merged and assimilated within the general Han populace.
The ancestors of the Huang from Henan migrated southwards several times because of social unrest, upheaval, and continued invasion by foreign forces since the Jin Dynasty (265-420).
Subsequent migrations occurred at the end of the Tang Dynasty in the 10th century and during the end of the Northern Song Dynasty in 1125, which saw a massive flood of refugees fleeing southward when the Jurchens captured the northern Song capital of Bianliang. A further southward migration may have continued, as the Mongols defeated the Jurchen Jin Dynasty and proceeded to take down the Southern Song, establishing the Yuan Dynasty in 1271.
The precise movements of these people remain unclear during the period when the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan in the 14th century and subsequently fell to the Manchus who formed the Qing Dynasty in 17th century.
During the reign of the Qing Emperor Kangxi (1654–1722), the coastal regions were evacuated by imperial edict for almost a decade, due to the dangers posed by the remnants of the Ming court who had fled to the island of Taiwan.
When the threat was eliminated, the Kangxi Emperor issued an edict to re-populate the coastal regions. To aid the move, each family was given monetary incentives to begin their new lives; newcomers were registered as "Guest Families" (客戶, kèhù), and therefore, Kejia or Hakka were known. Many of the Huang were registered as Hakka.