Ru Family History

Chinese:: Mandarin form of the surname 茹 meaning ‘eat’ in ancient Chinese: (i) borne by members of the Ruru (茹茹) ethnic group (also known as Rourans) in ancient northern China. (ii) adopted as a surname by the Pu Lou Ru (普陋茹) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD).

Mandarin form of the surname 汝 meaning ‘you’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from the placename Ru Chuan (汝川) the name of a fief (located in Henan province) granted to the youngest son of King Ping of Zhou (died 720 BC).

The surname may alternatively be derived from Ru (汝) the name of a river (also located in present-day Henan province). (ii) borne by descendants of Ru Jiu (汝鳩) and Ru Fang (汝方) talented officials during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC).