Lu is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

and

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...

romanization of the

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlik ...

written in simplified character and in traditional character. It is also spelled Luk or Loke according to the

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

pronunciation. Lu 陆 is the 61st most common surname in China, shared by 4.2 million people. Most people with the surname live in southern China; 44% live in just two provinces:

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

and

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...

. Lu 陸 is listed 198th in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

classic text A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the C ...

Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dy ...

''.

Demographics

As of 2013, Lu 陆 is the 61st most common surname in China. It is shared by 4.2 million people, or 0.33% of the Chinese population. Lu 陆 is predominantly a southern surname.

province has the highest number of Lu's, accounting for 23% of the national total.

is a close second, with 21%.

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...

, and

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...

, all southern provinces, account for another 33%. Lu 陆 is the 6th most common surname in Guangxi's capital and largest city of

Nanning Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South o ...

and the 10th most common name in

.ranking">"https://www.douban.com/group/topic/23803598/"(Chinese)

Origins

According to tradition, there are three main sources of the Lu 陆 surname: 1. From Luzhong (陆终), a great-great-grandson of the legendary emperor

Zhuanxu Zhuanxu (Chinese: trad. , simp. , pinyin ''Zhuānxū''), also known as Gaoyang ( t , s , p ''Gāoyáng''), was a mythological emperor of ancient China. In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, Z ...

. Luzhong's father Wuhui (吴回) was put in charge of fire by

Emperor Ku Kù (, variant graph ), usually referred to as Dì Kù (), also known as Gaoxin or Gāoxīn Shì () or Qūn (), was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He went by the name Gaoxin until receiving imperial authority, when he took the name Ku and t ...

and given the title of

Zhu Rong Rong Zhu ( ch: 茸主; born March 7, 2000) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Of Tibetan descent, as early as the age of 12, Rong began to practice Sanda. ...

. Luzhong's clan migrated to Pinglu County,

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...

, and later moved to Pinglu of

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

, in present-day Wenshang County. 2. From Luhun (陆浑), a tribe of the

Rong Rong or RONG may refer to: Places China * Rong County, Guangxi, Yulin, Guangxi, China * Rong County, Sichuan, Zigong, Sichuan, China Nepal * Rong, Ilam, a rural municipality in Ilam District, Nepal Norway * Rong, Norway, a village in Øygard ...

nomads who established a state in modern

Song County Song County or Songxian () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-lev ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

. In 525 BC, Luhun was annexed by the State of Jin, a major power during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

. Many of the Luhun people adopted Lu as their surname. 3. From the Tian (Chen) lineage of the Gui clan (妫), the ruling family of the

State of Chen Chen () was a state founded by the Duke Hu of Chen during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. It existed from c. 1045 BC–479 BC. Its capital was Wanqiu, in present-day Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province. Chen, the 4th ...

during the

Chen Wan Chen may refer to: People * Chen (surname) (陳 / 陈), a common Chinese surname * Chen (singer) (born 1992), member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO * Chen Chen (born 1989), Chinese-American poet * (), a Hebrew first name or surname: ...

(later called Tian Wan), a prince of Chen, escaped to the

State of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded sh ...

after losing a power struggle in his home state. Tian Wan's descendants prospered in Qi and eventually usurped the throne of the kingdom, which became known as Tian Qi. During the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

, King Xuan of Qi enfeoffed his youngest son Tian Tong at Lu 陆 (in modern

Laoling Laoling (), often mispronounced as Leling, is a county-level city in the northwest of Shandong province, China, bordering Hebei province to the north. Laoling has more than 640,000 inhabitants (1999) and is under the jurisdiction of Dezhou ...

), which was named after a branch of the Luzhong clan. Tian Tong's descendants adopted Lu as their surname.

Later adoption

During the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during t ...

dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen (reigned 467–499 AD) implemented a drastic policy of

sinicization Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

, ordering his own people to adopt Chinese surnames. The Bulugu (步陆孤) tribe of Xianbei adopted Lu as their surname. The Xianbei people have since completely assimilated into the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

. The Xianbei Lu later became highly prosperous. Out of the four most prominent Lu 陆 clans in history, which were based in the commanderies of

Henei Henei Commandery ( zh, 河內郡) was a commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan province, to the north of Yellow River. In ancient China, Henei ("Inside the Yellow River") referred to the land north of the lo ...

, Pingyuan, and Wu, two (Henan and Henei) traced their ancestry to the Bulugu tribe.

Notable people

* Lu Gu (陸賈; 240–170 BC),

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

politician and

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

scholar *

Lu Xun (Three Kingdoms) Lu Xun (183 – 19 March 245), courtesy name Boyan, also sometimes referred to as Lu Yi, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career as an official und ...

(陸遜; 183–245),

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

general and politician * Lu Mao (陸瑁; died 239), Eastern Wu politician, Lu Xun's younger brother * Lu Ji (Gongji) (陸績; 187–219), Eastern Wu official, one of The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars *

Lu Kai Lu Kai (198 – December 269 or January 270), courtesy name Jingfeng, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the influential Lu clan of the Wu region towa ...

(陸凱; 198–269), Eastern Wu politician * Lu Kang (Three Kingdoms) (陸抗; 226–274), Eastern Wu general, Lu Xun's son * Lu Ji (Shiheng) (陸機; 261–303), Eastern Wu and

Western Jin Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

writer and politician, son of Lu Kang * Lu Dunxin (陸敦信), Tang dynasty chancellor *

Lu Xiangxian Lu Xiangxian (陸象先) (665–736), né Lu Jingchu (陸景初), formally Duke Wenzhen of Yan (兗文貞公), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor R ...

(陸象先; 665–736),

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

chancellor * Lu Yu (陸羽; 733–804), Tang dynasty writer, author of ''The Classic of Tea'' *

Lu Zhi (Tang dynasty) Lu Zhi (陸贄; 754–805), courtesy name Jingyu (敬輿), was a Chinese politician, best known for his service as a personal advisor and later chancellor to Emperor Dezong of Tang. Lu Zhi enjoyed the emperor's confidence as a palace academician ...

(陸贄; 754–805), Tang dynasty chancellor * Lu Yi (陸扆; 847–905), Tang dynasty chancellor *

Lu Guimeng Lu Guimeng (; died 881), courtesy name Luwang (), was a recluse Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. He lived in seclusion at Puli near Suzhou. His pseudonyms included Mr. Puli (), Tiansuizhi (), and Jianghu Sanren (). He and his friend, the fel ...

(陸龜蒙; died 881), Tang dynasty poet *

Lu You Lu You (; 1125–1210) was a Chinese historian and poet of the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋). Career Early life and marriage Lu You was born on a boat floating in the Wei River early on a rainy morning, November 13, 1125. At the time of his ...

(陸游; 1125–1209),

Southern Song The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

dynasty poet * Lu Jiuyuan (陸九淵; 1139–1192), Southern Song philosopher *

Lu Xiufu Lu Xiufu (8 November 1236 – 19 March 1279), courtesy name Junshi (), was a Chinese statesman and military commander who lived in the final years of the Song dynasty. Originally from Yancheng (present-day Jianhu County) in Jiangsu Province, alo ...

(陸秀夫; 1236–1279), Southern Song chancellor and patriot * Lu Rong (陸容; 1436–1494),

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

official and scholar * Lu Cai (陸采; 1497–1537), Ming dynasty playwright * Imperial Noble Consort Qinggong, or Lady Lu (1724–1774) imperial consort from the Qing dynasty * Lu Jianying (陸建瀛; died 1853), Qing dynasty governor *

Loke Yew Loke Yew (), born Wong Loke Yew, CMG, LL.D. (1845–1917) was a Chinese-born, of Cantonese descent, business magnate. During his lifetime, he played a significant role in the development of Kuala Lumpur and was also one of the founding fath ...

(陸佑; Lu You; 1845–1917), Malayan businessman and philanthropist *

Lu Rongting Lu Rongting (; September 9, 1859 – November 6, 1928), also spelled as Lu Yung-ting and Lu Jung-t'ing, was a late Qing/early Republican military and political leader from Wuming, Guangxi. Lu belonged to the Zhuang ethnic group.吴振汉. � ...

(陸榮廷; 1856–1927), Qing dynasty general, and warlord in the Republican period * Lu Haodong (陸皓東; 1868–1895), late Qing dynasty revolutionary * Look Tin Eli (陸潤卿, aka Look Tin Sing, Luk Tin-Sun; 1870–1919), successful businessman in San Francisco * Lou Tseng-Tsiang (陸徵祥; Lu Zhengxiang; 1871–1949), twice served as

Premier of the Republic of China The Premier of the Republic of China, officially the President of the Executive Yuan ( Chinese: 行政院院長), is the head of the government of the Republic of China of Taiwan and leader of the Executive Yuan. The premier is nominally the ...

* Lu Zongyu (陸宗輿; 1876–1941), diplomat * Lu Xiaoman (陆小曼; 1903–1965), painter *

Keye Luke Keye Luke (, Cantonese: Luk Shek Kee; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American film and television actor, technical advisor and artist and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He was known for playing Lee Chan, t ...

(陸錫麒; 1904–1991), American actor * Lu Dingyi (陆定一; 1906–1996), politician * Loke Wan Tho (陆运涛; Lu Yuntao; 1915–1964), founder of the Cathay Organisation * Wing Luke (陸榮昌; 1925–1965), American politician * Lu Jiaxi (陆家羲; 1935–1983), mathematician * Lu Youquan (陆有铨; 1943–2019), education scholar * Lu Bing (陆兵; born 1944), politician * Lu Hao (陆浩; born 1947), Communist Party official and administrator * Christine Loh (陸恭蕙; Lu Gonghui; born 1956), Hong Kong legislator * Lu Yi-ching (陸弈靜; Lu Yijing; born 1960), Taiwanese actress * Yadong Luo (陆亚东; Lu Yadong; born 1963), Chinese-American international business professor, scholar and author *

Qi Lu (computer scientist) Lu Qi is the name of: * Lu Qi (Tang dynasty) ( 8th century), Tang dynasty official * Lu Qi (actor) (born 1953), Chinese actor * Qi Lu (computer scientist) or Lu Qi (born 1961), Chinese computer scientist {{hndis, Lu ...

(陆奇; Lu Qi; born 1961), computer programmer and executive * Lu Hao (born 1967) (陆昊; born 1967), Governor of Heilongjiang province *

Lu Chuan Lu Chuan (born 8 February 1971) is a Chinese filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He is the son of novelist Lu Tianming (). Education Educated at the in Nanjing, Lu spent two years serving in the Army as a secretary to a general. After his time ...

(陆川; born 1971), filmmaker and screenwriter * Lu Yi (actor) (陆毅; born 1976), actor and singer * Lu Li (陆莉; born 1976), gymnast * Loke Siew Fook or Anthony Loke ( 陆兆福; born 1977), Malaysian politician * Luk Koon Pong (陸冠邦; Lu Guanbang; born 1978), Hong Kong football player * Lu Bofei (陆博飞; born 1979), football player *

Sharon Luk Sharon Luk or Luk Sze-wan (born 29 December 1980) is a TVB actress. She is also Miss Hong Kong 2005 1st runner up. Background Growing up in a family of 2, Sharon was born in Hong Kong. Ever since she was young, Sharon wanted to be a pilot, but i ...

(陸詩韻; Luk Sze-wan; born 1980), Hong Kong actress *

Lu Feng Lu Feng (; born 12 November 1981 in Luoyang) is a former Chinese professional footballer who played as a midfielder, he spent the majority of his playing career at Henan Jianye, led them to 2 promotions to Chinese Super League in 2006 and 2013 ...

(陆峰; born 1981), football player * Lu Yong (陆永; born 1986), weightlifter *

Michael Luk Michael Chi Ho Luk (born 22 August 1986) is a former Hong Kong professional footballer who currently plays as an amateur player for Hong Kong First Division club Hoi King. He also holds a Canadian passport in addition to his Hong Kong passpo ...

(陸志豪; Lu Zhihao; born 1986), Hong Kong-born Canadian football player *

Lu Chunlong Lu Chunlong (; born April 8, 1989, in Jiangyin, Jiangsu) is a male Chinese trampoline gymnast who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 20 ...

(陆春龙; born 1989), gymnast * Victoria Loke (陆詠怡; born 1992), Singaporean actress *

Lu Ting SNH48 is a Chinese idol girl group based in Shanghai. Following AKB48's creator Yasushi Akimoto's concept of "idols you can meet", the group features dozens of female members around the age of 20, who perform regularly in the group's own the ...

(陆婷; born 1992), Chinese singer, actress, and member of Chinese idol group SNH48 *

Marie Lu Marie Lu (born 陸希未) is a Chinese-American young adult author. She is best known for the ''Legend'' series, novels set in a dystopian and militarized future, as well as the Young Elites series, the Warcross series, and ''Batman: Nightwalker ...

, Chinese-American author

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames