Yu is the

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

romanisation Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

of several

Chinese family name 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, unlike the ...

s. However, in the

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 ...

romanisation system, Yu is equivalent to

You In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

in pinyin. "Yu" may represent many different

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji ...

, including 余, 于, 由, 魚 (鱼), 漁(渔), 楀, 俞(兪), 喻 (this character is 35th name on the ''

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 ...

'' poem), 於, 遇, 虞, 郁, 尉, 禹, 游, 尤, 庾, 娛(娱), and 茹 (Rú). The most common of the Yu surnames are 于, 余, and 俞. In China, 0.62% of the population have the family name 于 in 2002 (about 7.4 million), and this surname is most common in Shandong province and northeastern China. Around 0.41% of the population have the surname 余 in 2002 (over five million), and it is most common in

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

and

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

provinces. The 俞 surname represents around 0.12% of China's population.

Surname Yu (于)

Surname Yu (余)

Surname Yu (俞)

History

Yu () is said to have been derived as a term used by medical practitioners Yu (腧) since the time of The Yellow Emperor. The two words are closely related and the family name was change from Yu (腧) to Yu (俞). During the

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

period, the

Zheng (state) Zheng (; ; Old Chinese: *') was a vassal state in China during the Zhou Dynasty (1046–221 BCE) located in the centre of ancient China in modern-day Henan Province on the North China Plain about east of the royal capital at Luoyang. It was ...

ruler Duke Wen of Zheng (鄭文公)'s son created a family name Yu (俞). The surname was also used by the ruling families of the State of Chu . The surname is also found in various minority people such as the

Yi people The Yi or Nuosu people,; zh, c=彝族, p=Yízú, l=Yi ethnicity historically known as the Lolo,; vi, Lô Lô; th, โล-โล, Lo-Lo are an ethnic group in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Numbering nine million people, they are the sev ...

(彝), Hui people (回), etc. It is the 57th name on the ''

'' poem.K. S. Tom. 989(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. .

Prominent people with family name 俞

Yu Dayou Yu Dayou (1503–1579), courtesy name Zhifu, art name Xujiang, was a Chinese general and martial artist best known for countering the ''wokou'' pirates along China's southeastern coast during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty. ...

俞大猷, pirate suppressor. * Yu Dechao 俞德超, biotechnology inventor and entrepreneur *

Yu Zigao Yu Zigao (.1628). was a Chinese admiral. He was responsible for forcing the Dutch to leave Penghu Island. While he enriched himself by way of an association with one notorious pirate, Li Dan, his position came under pressure because of another p ...

俞諮皋, Chinese patriot of the Ming Dynasty. * Yu Zhengsheng, Chinese politician, current Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

the name is transcribed as Yoo. *

Yu Hung-Chun Yu Hung-chun (; 4 January 1898 – 1 June 1960), also known as O. K. Yui, was a Chinese political figure who served as mayor of Shanghai, chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government and Premier of the Republic of China. Right before the Battl ...

Yu Kuo-Hwa Yu Kuo-hwa () (January 10, 1914 – October 4, 2000) was the Premier of the Republic of China from 1984 to 1989. Biography He was born on 10 January 1914 in Fenghua, Ningbo, Zhejiang, Republic of China, China. He studied for degrees at Harvard ...

Surname Yu (虞)

The surname was derived from the State of Yú 虞国. The name is transliterated as ''Ngu'' in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

but is very rare in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

History

According to Chinese legend, Yu () is an ancient surname in China. The ancestors of the surname were closely linked with the ancient sage-king named Yu Shun. When Yu Shun was getting old, he took his initiative to hand over the state power to Da Yu. Da Yu granted Yu Shun's son Shang Jun (商均) the Yu kingdom (虞国, now in Yucheng, Henan Province). Later, the descendants of Shang Jun took the name of the kingdom as their surname. During the

, Zhou Wu Wang (1,134-1,115BC) granted the descendants of

Zhongyong of Wu Zhongyong () was the second ruler of the ancient Chinese State of Wu according to traditional Chinese history. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name was Yong, and Zhong refers to his rank as the second son of King Tai of Zhou. According ...

, the son of King Tai of Zhou, territory to the northeast of Pinglu in Shanxi. The kingdom was named Yu (虞国) and they took the name of Yu (虞) after the kingdom.

Prominent people with family name 虞

Yu Fan Yu Fan (, , ; 164–233), courtesy name Zhongxiang, was a Chinese essayist, politician, and writer of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Initially a minor officer under Wang Lang, the Administrator of Kuaiji Com ...

* Yu Hsiao-cheng, Deputy Chairperson of National Communications Commission of the Republic of China * Yu Shinan * Concubine Yu

Others

Surname 魚

The name is transliterated as ''Ngư'' in

but is very rare in

Surname 郁

The name is transliterated as ''Úc/Uất'' in

but is very rare in

. *

Yu Dafu Yu Wen, better known by his courtesy name Yu Dafu (December 7, 1896 – September 17, 1945) was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet. He was one of the new literary group initiators, and this new literary group was named the Creation Soc ...

Surname 庾

The name is transliterated as ''Dữu'' in

but is very rare in

Prominent people with family name 庾

Harlem Yu Harlem Yu (; born 28 July 1961) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, television host and businessman. He is particularly well-known for singing the theme song, ''Qing Fei De Yi'', for the 2001 television drama, '' Meteor Garden''. He made a cameo i ...

, Taiwanese entertainer * Yu Xin, poet

References

External links

History of the Surname 'Yu' (Chinese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu (Chinese Surname) Chinese-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames

Surname Yu (于)

Surname Yu (余)

Surname Yu (俞)

History

Prominent people with family name 俞

Surname Yu (虞)

History

Prominent people with family name 虞

Others

Surname 魚

Surname 郁

Surname 庾

Prominent people with family name 庾

See also

References

External links