Surname Overview
Pronunciations and Branches
The surname Fo has the readings bì and fú, with different origins and thus properly treated as two surnames.
Fo Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 7Fo / Fo
Origins
Spring and Autumn Origin
One branch pronounced bì traces its origin to Fuli, a senior official of Zhongmou in Lu during the Spring and Autumn period; Fuli was also written Fuxi.
Reference: 佛姓_佛姓的来源_佛姓族谱_姓氏佛姓的名人_佛氏家谱_百家姓
The Fotu Branch
One branch pronounced fú may derive from the Fotu lineage, as recorded in the Xing Shi Kao Lue.
Commanderies and Clan Halls
Zhongmou Commandery Seat
The surname's commandery seat is Zhongmou, a Jin settlement during the Spring and Autumn period whose site was west of present-day Hebi, Henan, rather than in today's Zhongmou County, Henan.
Migration and Distribution
Present Distribution
The surname is widely distributed but very small in number. The fó reading is found in Taiyuan, Yuncheng, Linfen, and Xinzhou in Shanxi, and Fengqiu in Henan; the fú reading is found in Lushui in Yunnan, Guichi in Anhui, and Taiyuan and Changzhi in Shanxi.
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