Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 余 (or rarely written as 餘) meaning ‘I’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from the second element of the personal name You Yu (由余) the name of a prime minister in the state of Qin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) from Yu (余) the name of a small state during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) said to be borne by descendants of Xia Yu the first king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 于 (meaning ‘go’ in ancient Chinese) or 於 (often simplified as 于 in Mainland China meaning ‘depend on’ in ancient Chinese): (i) simplified form of the Chinese character 邘 the name of an ancient state (located in Qinyang in Henan province) which was granted to Yu Shu (邘叔) the third son of King Wen of Zhou (1152–1056 BC). After it was annexed by the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) the Chinese character 邘 (pronounced Yu) was simplified to (于) and adopted as a surname.
(ii) adopted as a surname by the Wan Niu Yu (萬忸于) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). (iii) adopted in place of the Chinese compound surname Chun-Yu (淳于) because the first element of the surname Chun happened to share the same pronunciation with the personal name of the emperor Li Chun also known as Emperor Xianzong of Tang (778–820 AD) which was taboo in ancient China. (iv) said to be traced back to Yu Ze (於則) who said to be the inventor of shoes an official of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (v) from the second element of the placename Shang Yu (商於) in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 俞 meaning ‘assent consent’ in ancient Chinese: (i) said to be traced back to Yu Fu (俞跗) a famous doctor during the reign of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC).
(ii) said to be traced back to the noble families in the state of Zheng and Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 虞 referring to a kind of beast in ancient Chinese: from Yu (虞) the name of two ancient states. One is known as Dong Yu or Eastern Yu (located in Yucheng in Henan province) said to have been granted by Xia Yu the first king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC) to the son of the legendary Emperor Shun (c. 23rd century BC). The other is known as Xi Yu or Western Yu (located in Pinglu in Shanxi province) which was annexed by the state of Jin in 655 BC.
Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 庾 meaning ‘open-air granaries’ in Chinese: (i) from the second element of Zhang Yu (掌庾) literally meaning ‘in charge of open-air granaries’ the name of an official post during the reign of the legendary Emperor Yao (c. 24th century BC). (ii) from the first element of Yu Lin (庾廩) meaning ‘granaries’ the name of an official post during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). (iii) from Yu (庾) the name of an ancient state during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 喻 meaning ‘explain’ or ‘analogy’ in Chinese: (i) adopted in place of another Chinese surname Yu (諭) after the Eastern Jin dynasty (316–420 AD).
(ii) adopted in place of another Chinese surname pronounced Yu (渝) during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han (188–141 BC) because the Chinese character happened to be identical to the personal name of the wife of the emperor. It was taboo in ancient China to bear a name that was the same as that of a member of a royal or imperial family. (iii) from the name of Yu Chu (喻樗) who was granted the surname Yu (喻) during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279 AD). Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 禹: (i) from the personal name Yu (禹) the name of the first king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (ii) simplified form of Chinese (鄅) the name of a small state (located in present-day Shandong province).
