Yú (surname 余)

Yu (Chinese: 余; pinyin: Yú) is one of the Chinese family names. It is listed as the 90th surname in the "Hundred Family Surnames". It is also sometimes translated to Yee, the Taishanese spelling, in English. The name is transliterated as Dư in Vietnamese but is very rare in Vietnam. In Indonesia, it is transliterated as Oe (from Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Û) It is the 90th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.[1]

Not to be confused with Yu (surname 于).
Yu (余)
PronunciationYú (Mandarin)
Yee, Woo, Oe (Hokkien)
Yu, Yue, Yee, Eu (Cantonese)
Yi, Yee (Gan Chinese, Xiang Chinese, Sze yap)
Er (Teochew)
Language(s)Chinese
Origin
Language(s)Middle Chinese
Word/namethe area of Fengxiang (鳳翔) to Xianyang (咸陽) in Shaanxi.
Meaning"surplus"
Other names
Cognate(s)You (由)

History

Yu (余) is a typical name in the southern area of China. Its place of origin of this name is thought to be in the area of Fengxiang (鳳翔) to Xianyang (咸陽) in Shaanxi. The Yu moved and settled in the She County (歙縣) in Anhui. During this period, the Yu became a prominent clan in the prefecture of Xin An (新安郡), Luoyang. Because of the war in the north at that time, they moved to the south, to places like Hunan and Hubei. After the Han dynasty, the surname became quite well-spread in the southern China, less so in northern China. Many of the Yu moved into counties like Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Jiangxi in southern China during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.[2] After the Tang dynasty the surname became widespread and very well known in the southeast area of China. At this point they moved into other places like Fujian and Guangdong.

During the Spring and Autumn period of China, there was a court physician of the Qin state known as You Yu (由余). His descendants used the surnames You (由) or Yu (余).[3]

Some non-Han Chinese people adopted the Yu surname, such as the Xiongnu, Chi Di, Mongols, Manchus, Qiang and Miaos.

Notable people

References
  1. K. S. Tom. [1989] (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1285-9.
  2. 陈建魁 (2008). 中国姓氏文化. 中原农民出版社. p. 191.
  3. 新編百家姓. 正中書局. 2005. p. 150. ISBN 9789570917529.
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