Lu (surname 蘆)

For other Chinese surnames also romanized as "Lu", see Lu (surname).
Lú (芦/蘆)
PronunciationLú (Mandarin)
Lo (Cantonese)
Language(s)Chinese
Origin
Language(s)Middle Chinese
MeaningReed

Lú is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname written 芦 in simplified character and 蘆 in traditional character. It is also spelled Lo according to the Cantonese pronunciation. Lu 芦 is the 140th most common surname in China, with a population of 980,000. A relatively new surname, it is not listed in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.[1]

Demographics

As of 2008, Lu 蘆 is the 140th most common surname in China, shared by 980,000 people, or 0.079% of the Chinese population.[2][3] It is concentrated in the provinces of Anhui, Hubei, Hebei, and Henan, which altogether account for 43% of the total, including 17% in Anhui alone.[3]

Origins

Lu 蘆 is a relatively new surname by Chinese standard, with a history of about 1,500 years. It was first recorded during the Xianbei Northern Wei dynasty, when Emperor Xiaowen (reigned 467–499 AD) implemented a drastic policy of sinicization, ordering his own people to adopt Chinese-style surnames. The Molu (莫蘆) tribe of Xianbei adopted Lu 蘆 as their surname.[3] During the Ming and Qing dynasties, many people of the Zhuang, Yao, and Miao ethnicities in southern China also adopted the surname.[3]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ "百家姓" [Hundred Family Surnames] (in Chinese). Guoxue. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
  2. ^ 中国最新300大姓排名（2008） [300 most common surnames in China (2008)] (in Chinese). Taiwan.cn. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
  3. ^ a b c d 芦姓起源 [Origin of the Lu surname] (in Chinese). Greater China Genealogy. Retrieved 2014-09-23.