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Ku Family History

Ku Name Meaning

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 庫 meaning ‘warehouse’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by the descendants of those officials in charge of warehouses in the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) mispronounced form of another Chinese surname Ku (苦). (iii) adopted as a surname by the Ku Men (庫門) and Ku Nu Guan (庫傉官) families during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). Chinese: variant of Gu . Chinese: Teochew Hokkien and Taiwanese form of the surnames 邱 and 丘 see Qiu 1 and Korean: there are three Chinese characters for the surname Ku. The most common of the three claims 32 clans but only two can be documented. The other two Ku surnames each have one clan with its own Chinese character. All four of the Ku clans immigrated from China. The clans that use the more common character came in two waves: the first settled in the Nŭngsŏng sometime before 945 and the second which settled in Ch’angwŏn arrived in 122 The name of the immigrant who founded the first of these two clans has been lost; but the name of the second is Ku Chon-yu. Members of these two clans can be found throughout the Korean peninsula but 45 percent of them live in Kyŏngsang South province while 20 percent of them live in Seoul and Kyŏnggi province. The founder of the clan that uses the other Ku character was named Ku T’ae-rim. He was an emissary for Tang China on his way to Japan when a storm blew his ship onto the shores of Koguryŏ Korea in 66 He settled in Koguryŏ territory and subsequently held a post in that government. Koguryŏ was a Korean kingdom which existed in the northern part of the Korean peninsula from 37 BC to AD 668. Its territory was incorporated into Shilla when the peninsula was unified in 668. Most of the modern-day members of this clan live in Ch’ungch’ŏng province. Very little is known of the origins of the clan which uses the third Ku character. There are only a few families which still use this character in Korea; they live in Kyŏngsang province and Kangwŏn province. Compare Goo 3 and Koo 6. Southeast Asian (Hmong): variant of Kue Amerindian (Mexico): Mayan name from ku or k'u meaning ‘god’ and ‘nest’. Compare Cu .

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Yu, Ko, Im, Pu, Lu, Ki, Kuk, Hu, Wu, Du

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Where is the Ku family from?

You can see how Ku families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Ku family name was found in the USA, and Canada between 1880 and 1920. The most Ku families were found in USA in 1920. In 1880 there were 18 Ku families living in California. This was about 78% of all the recorded Ku's in USA. California had the highest population of Ku families in 1880.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Ku surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Ku ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer was the top reported job for people in the USA named Ku. 82% of Ku men worked as a Laborer. .

View Census Data for Ku | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

United States shown, England data unavailable

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    82%
  • Farmer
    19%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Ku family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 8,000 census records available for the last name Ku. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Ku census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 3,000 immigration records available for the last name Ku. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 4,000 military records available for the last name Ku. For the veterans among your Ku ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Ku lifespan?

Between 1957 and 2004, in the United States, Ku life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1972, and highest in 2000. The average life expectancy for Ku in 1957 was 64, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Ku

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