Origin

The character 顕 combines a left component 显 that hints at its pronunciation (ケン) with 頁 on the right, which is a classifier indicating the character relates to the head or face. The semantic connection comes from the idea that something "appearing" or becoming "visible" involves the head or face — when something manifests or becomes clear, it shows itself prominently, like how a face becomes visible. Over time, the meaning expanded from this physical notion of showing oneself to the more abstract sense of appearing or existing clearly.