Hu (surname)


Hu is a Chinese surname. In 2006, it was the 15th most common surname in China. In 2013, it was the 13th most common in China, with 13.7 million Chinese sharing this surname. In 2019 Hu was the fifteenth most common surname in Mainland China.
Some other less-common surnames pronounced Hu include,,,,,,, and. In Cantonese, “胡” is also pronounced as "Wu" or "Woo" or "Ow".

Meaning

In Classical Chinese, hú 胡 meant: "dewlap; wattle" and was a variant Chinese character for "how; why; what", "long-lasting; far-reaching", "part of a dagger-axe", hu- in "butterfly", or possibly "Northern Barbarians".

History

According to tradition, the Hu surname has several historical origins. First, Hu could derive from the family of Duke Hu of Chen. King Wu of Zhou enfeoffed his son-in-law Gui Man 媯滿 with the state of Chen. His posthumous name was Duke Hu, and some of his descendants adopted Hu as their surname. Second, Hu could derive from two Zhou vassal states named Hu 胡, one located near Luohe or another near Fuyang. Third, Hu could derive from non-Chinese people adopting it as their surname. For example, in the 496 Change of Xianbei names to Han names, Hegu/Gegu 紇骨 was changed to Hu 胡. Fourth, Hu could derive from the clan name of the ancient Tiele people within the Xiongnu confederation.
Non-Chinese peoples and ethnic minorities in China sometimes took the Chinese exonym for their ethnic group as their surname. The best example is Hu 胡, which was anciently used to refer to "barbarian" groups on the northern and western frontiers of China.
Hu was used for various northern and western peoples of non-Chinese stock. It was commonly used for people of Persian, Sogdian, Turkic, Xianbi, Indian and Kushan origin and, occasionally, for the Xiongnu.
Two historically significant Hu names are this Donghu 東胡 "ancient Mongolian nomadic group" and the Wu Hu 五胡 "five nomadic tribes involved in the Wu Hu uprising" against the Jin Dynasty. Hu was also one of the eight surnames of the first Han Chinese clans who first moved out the Central Plains into Fujian province during this conflict.
The Hồ 胡 clan which founded the Hồ dynasty in Vietnam originated in Zhejiang province of China.
The Hu family of Xidi are descended from Hu Shiliang, from Wuyuan, who was a descendant of Hu Changyi, a son of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang who was adopted by the Wuyuan Hu family.
The surname 虎, which means "Tiger", is rare in China to the point where many people are not aware that it is used as a surname. Some believe it comes from the name of a 4,300-year-old chancellor, while others believe it originates among the Hui Muslim minority.

Notable people