Surname Overview
The surname Yu ranks 181st in the Song edition of the Hundred Family Surnames and is relatively uncommon today.
Yu Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 266,458Yu / Yü
Origins
主要 Origins
The surname Yu is associated with the ancient State of Yu, place names such as Yuzhi County, and descendants of Yu Huang, also known as Yu Gong, of the State of Lu in the Spring and Autumn period.
Historical Records
Classical Attestations
The Xingkao records an ancient State of Yu that later became the fief of a Wu grandee; the Ditu states that Yulang City in Yutai was the site of the ancient State of Yu.
Migration and Distribution
Geographic Distribution
The surname Yu is widely distributed, occurring in Beijing, Wuqing in Tianjin, parts of Hebei and Shandong, Wuhai in Inner Mongolia, Chongren in Jiangxi, Wuchuan in Guangdong, Longchuan in Yunnan, Wuxi in Jiangsu, and Lushui; it is found among both the Han and Zhuang peoples.
Notable People
Historical Figure
Yu Dafu (1896–1945), originally named Yu Wen, was from Fuyang, Zhejiang, and was a modern Chinese novelist, essayist, and poet.
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