The shell bone script of Ding
They are heads of bamboo nails, that is the original meaning of Ding.
or wooden wedge
So the original meaning of 丁 is Nail or anything small with a sharp end.
Its bronze script
Its big seal script is
The top of a small nail.
Its small seal script
A side view of the nail.
A side view of the nail.
Its clerical script
Different side view of nail, the hook is not for pictography, but unconscious extra brush movement.
Its Pinyin is Ding1.
丁 is a popular surname right now, and character with the least strokes. In Chinese, a name list is alway listed in the order of number of strokes, the least in the first. So 丁 is always the first surname in any name list. 一 （One) has the least strokes but it is not a surname.
