Wú is thepinyin transliteration of theChinese surname吳 (Simplified Chinese吴), which is a common surname (family name) inMainland China. Wú (吳) is the sixth name listed in theSong dynastyclassicHundred Family Surnames.[1] In 2019 Wu was the ninth most common surname in Mainland China.[2] A 2013 study found that it was the eighth most common surname, shared by 26,800,000 people or 2.000% of the population, with the province having the most being Guangdong.[3]
TheCantonese andHakka transliteration of 吳 isNg, a syllable made entirely of anasal consonant while theMin Nan transliteration of 吳 isNgo,Ngoh,Ngov,Goh,Go,Gouw, depending on the regional variations in Min Nan pronunciation.Shanghainese transliteration of 吳 isWoo.
吳 is also one of the most common surnames in Korea. It is spelled오 inHangul and romanizedO by the three major romanization systems, but more commonly spelledOh in South Korea. It is also related far back in Chinese history with the name "Zhou (周)" and "Ji (姬)". TheVietnamese equivalent of the surname isNgô.
Several other, less common Chinese surnames are also transliterated into English as "Wu", but with differenttones:
Wu (orWoo orWou) is also theCantonese transliteration of the Chinese surname 胡 (MandarinHu), used in Hong Kong, Malaysia and by other overseas Chinese of Cantonese-speaking areas of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macau origin.
The name originates from the ancient state ofWu in present-day province ofJiangsu.
In the 13th century BC, the state of Zhou (which would later become theZhou dynasty) was ruled byTai Wang (King Tai of Zhou). His surname was originallyJi (姬). He had three sons:Taibo,Zhongyong, andJili. King Tai of Zhou favored the youngest son, Jili to inherit the reins of power, therefore Taibo and his brother Zhongyong voluntarily left Zhou with a group of followers and headed southeast where they established the state ofWu.[4][5] Taibo and Zhongyong's descendants eventually adopted Wu (吳) as their surname. The state of Wu later became a powerful kingdom of its own with the help of GeneralsWu Zixu andSun Tzu, the latter best known as the author of the military treatiseThe Art of War, both serving underKing Helü of Wu. King Helü is considered to be one of theFive Hegemons of China during the Spring and Autumn period.
Taibo and Zhongyong's youngest brother Jili stayed to rule the Zhou state and was the grandfather ofWu Wang (King Wu of Zhou) who started theZhou dynasty after successfully overthrowing theShang dynasty. The descendants of Wu Wang eventually changed their surname from Ji (姬) toZhou (周) during theQin dynasty to commemorate the merits and virtues of their ancestors.[6]
Therefore, the surnames Wu (吳), Zhou (周), and Ji (姬) are historically related.
姬 吳泰伯 –Taibo of Wu, eldest son of King Tai of Zhou and the legendary founder of the State of Wu, and the propagator of all people with the surname Wu (吳). Ancestral name is Ji (姬).
吳起 (吴起) –Wu Qi, famous Chu general who wrote theWuzi
吳儀 (吴仪) –Wu Yi (politician), vice-premier of the People's Republic of China
呉子良 – Wu Ziliang, the birthname ofEmi Suzuki, Japanese model of Chinese descent
吳作棟 (吴作栋) – Wu Zuodong (Goh Chok Tong), former prime minister of the Republic of Singapore, current senior minister of Singapore and the chairman of the Central Bank of Singapore
吴亦凡 –Kris Wu, ex-member of the Chinese-South Korean boy group EXO, Canadian rapper
吴军Wu Jun, Chinese survivor and victim of a robbery-murder case. His friendCao Ruyin was murdered; their two attackers were separately sentenced to death and to 18.5 years' jail for murder and robbery with hurt respectively.
This page lists people with thesurnameWu. If aninternal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change thatlink by adding the person'sgiven name(s) to the link.
