From Where Does The Surname Originate? ^{meaning and history}

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The character 劉, Originally meaning 'kill', it is now used only as a surname. Today, it is the 4th most common surname in Mainland China as well as one of the most popular names in the world.LiuLiuLiú surname in traditional Chinese charactersPronunciationLiú ([ljǒu]) (Pinyin)Lau4Lâu (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)Language(s)Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, JapaneseOriginLanguage(s)Old ChineseOther namesVariant form(s)Liú (Mandarin)Lau (Cantonese)Lieu (Shanghainese)Lưu (Vietnamese)Yoo, Ryu (Korean)See alsoLuuYoo (Korean surname)劉 / 刘 (/ljoʊ/ or /ljuː/[1]) is a East Asian surname. pinyin: Liú in Mandarin Chinese, Lau4 in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character 劉, Originally meaning 'kill', it is now used only as a surname. Today, it is the 4th most common surname in Mainland China as well as one of the most popular names in the world.[2][3]

Contents1Distribution2Origin3History4Prominent people with the family name 劉4.1Historical figures4.2Contemporary5References6External linksDistribution[edit]In 2019 劉 was the fourth most common surname in Mainland China.[4] Additionally, it was the most common surname in Jiangxi province. In 2013 it was found to be the 5th most common name, shared by 67,700,000 people or 5.100% of the population, with the province with the most people being Shandong.[5]

Origin[edit]One source is that they descend from the Qí (祁) clan of Emperor Yao. For example the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty (one of China's golden ages), Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han) was a descendant of Emperor Yao.

Another origin is from the Jī (姬) clan of King Qing of Zhou. For example, Duke Kang of Liu [zh], the youngest son of King Qing of Zhou, founded the State of Liu [zh] and his descendants took state names as surname.

History[edit]Liu was the ruling family of the Han dynasty, one of the most prosperous and influential empires in Chinese history. After the Chen Sheng Wu Guang uprising overthrew the Qin, the Han dynasty was founded by Emperor Liu Bang. Later, Emperor Liu Che helped expand the Han dynasty even further, ushering in a golden age for China.

The Han dynasty had 30 emperors were surnamed Liu, making it among the Chinese dynasties that had the most emperors. The Han dynasty lasted 400 years, making it one of the longest lasting Chinese empires in history. The Han is what gives its name to the Han people as well as Han characters / Hanzi / Chinese characters.

Even after the Han dynasty, several Liu continued to hold power within China including Liu Bei (written about in Records of the Three Kingdoms) and Liu Yuan (Han Zhao).

Over history, several non-Han Chinese peoples have converted to the Liu surname, including Xiongnuand Turks (after the collapse of the Tang dynasty).

Luu (or Lưu with diacritics) is a Vietnamese surname. Luu originates as a transliteration of the traditional Chinese surname, Liu (劉). The ancient Yao people of Chinese often had the surname Liu (劉), which when they emigrated from Guandong, China to Vietnam. Another instance of this exchange is during the Yuan Dynasty when the Mongols (that usually carried the last name Liu) migrated to Vietnam. Some Vietnamese people with the last name Luu are of Han Chinese descent due to the ancient migration patterns. Prior to the French occupation of Vietnam, Luu was written as 劉. When the alphabet was introduced during the French occupation (in which the government abandoned the use of Chinese logograms), the Vietnamese were forced to use the french alphabet system. This caused the traditional spelling to morph into Lưu. After the Vietnam War (1975), many southern Vietnamese migrated all over the world, but the majority in France and the US.

The last name derives from the state of Liu, which was granted to a descendant of the model emperor Yao (2357–2257 BC).

The last name is also derived from an area called Liu Xia in the state of Lu (in present-day Shanxi province). During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC), this was granted to a counsellor famous for his high moral character. His descendants adopted the name of this area as their surname.