Surname Overview
Overview
Wu is a currently rare surname, pronounced Wù. It is absent from the Hundred Family Surnames, and common modern dictionaries do not list 兀 as a surname.
Wù Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 6Wù / Wu
Origins
Northern Wei Origin
One branch of the Wu surname traces its origin to Yuan Jian, Prince of Anle of Northern Wei. After Yuan Jian was executed for rebellion, his descendants changed their surname from Yuan to Wu; the Tang-era Yuanhe Xingzuan and Song-era Tongzhi both record this account.
Other Origins
Two other explanations are also recorded: a Qiang group in Huanzhou during Northern Zhou used the group name as its surname; during the dynastic transition at the end of Yuan, some Mongolian people surnamed Yuan changed it to Wu.
Historical Records
Documentary Attestations
The 1936 edition of Shanzhou Gazetteer records the Wu clan of Yuandian Village as descendants of Yuan Jian, Prince of Anle of Northern Wei; the Zheng Tongzhi: Clan Records also includes the surname Wu.
Migration and Distribution
Distribution and Migration
The Wu surname is found in Yuandian and Wujiawa in Shan County, Sanmenxia, Henan; Wujiayan in Lantian, Shaanxi; Xiaodian Xiqiao Village in Taiyuan, Shanxi; and Shanghai. It is also reported in Xinhui, Jiangxi; Hancheng, Shaanxi; Yuncheng, Lüliang, and Jinzhong in Shanxi; Taipei; Luoning in Henan; and Beijing.
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Surname attestation references
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