Yu is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

romanisation In linguistics, romanization 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 transcription, ...

of several

Chinese family name Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, Korea, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the W ...

s. However, in the

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

romanisation system, Yu is equivalent to

You In Modern English, the word "''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 ...

in pinyin. "Yu" may represent many different

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

, including 余, 于, 由,

魚 Radical 195 or radical fish () meaning "fish" is one of the 6 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 11 strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 571 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. (8 strokes), ...

(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 language , Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book ...

'' 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 Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

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 ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

and

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern 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 capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

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 Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

. 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 ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

period, the Zheng 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 Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

. The surname is also found in various minority people such as the

Yi people The Yi or Nuosu people (Nuosu language, Nuosu: , ; see also #Names and subgroups, § Names and subgroups) are an ethnic group in South China, southern China. Numbering nine million people, they are the seventh largest of the 55 Ethnic minorit ...

(彝),

Hui people The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Islam in China, Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the Northwest China, northwestern provinces and in the Zhongy ...

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

'' poem.K. S. Tom.

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat Bardas Phokas (the Younger), who suffe ...

(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. .

Prominent people with family name 俞

* Kelvin Yii 俞利文; born 1986, Malaysian politician *

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

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

Yu Shan (actress) Yu Shan (俞珊, 1908 - 1968) was a Chinese actress and one of the earliest drama actors in China. Life Yu Shan was born in 1908, in Shanyin, Zhejiang, Zhejiang Province (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province), to the prominent Shanyin Coun ...

俞珊, Chinese actress *

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 (pirate), Li Dan, his position came under pressure becau ...

俞諮皋, Chinese patriot of the Ming dynasty. *

Yu Zhengsheng Yu Zhengsheng (; ; born 5 April 1945) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from March 2013 to 2018. Between 2012 and 2017, Yu was the fourth-ranking member ...

, Chinese politician, current Chairman of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

. *

Yu Hung-chun Yu Hung-chun ( zh, t=俞鴻鈞, p=Yú Hóngjūn; 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 o ...

Yu Hua Yu Hua (; born 3 April, 1960) is a Chinese novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is widely considered one of the greatest living authors in China. Shortly after his debut as a fiction writer in 1983, his first breakthrough came in 19 ...

, Chinese novelist. *

Yu Kuo-hwa Yu Kuo-hwa (; January 10, 1914 – October 4, 2000) was a Taiwanese economist who served as the Premier of the Republic of China from 1984 to 1989. Biography Yu was born on 10 January 1914 in Fenghua, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. After graduatin ...

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

, the name is transcribed as

Woo Woo, or variants, may refer to: People * Wu (surname), and several variants and other transliterations ** Wu (surname 伍) ** Wu (surname 武) ** Ng (name): 吳, 伍 * Hu (surname), also pronounced Woo * Woo (Korean surname) * Woo (Korean give ...

(禹 and 于), or Yoo (兪 and 余).

Surname Yu (虞)

The surname was derived from the State of Yú 虞國/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 * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

but is very rare in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

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 (虞國/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 (1134–1115 BC) 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. Accordin ...

, the son of

King Tai of Zhou King Tai of Zhou () or Gugong Danfu () was a leader of the Predynastic Zhou during the Shang dynasty in ancient China. His great-grandson Fa would later conquer the Shang and establish the Zhou dynasty. Name "King Tai" was a posthumous name besto ...

, territory to the northeast of Pinglu in

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

. The kingdom was named Yu (虞國/国) and they took the name of Yu (虞) after the kingdom.

Prominent people with family name 虞

Yu Fan Yu Fan ( zh, t= , , ; 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 ...

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

Yu Shinan Yu Shinan (558 – 11 July 638), courtesy name Boshi, posthumously known as Duke Wenyi of Yongxing, was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived in the early Tang dynasty and rose to prominence during the reign of Emperor Taizong. His u ...

* 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 has been hosting television shows in Taiwan since 1994 and in China since 2011, and served as a coach for three seasons of '' The Voice of Chi ...

, Taiwanese entertainer * Yu Xin, poet

References

External links

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