Lu () is a

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicization, Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, Korea, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, ...

. It is also spelled Lo according to the

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

pronunciation. Lu 路 is listed 138th in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

classic text '' Hundred Family Surnames''. Lu 路 is the 116th most common surname in China, with a total population of 2.35 million.

Demographics and distribution

As of 2013, Lu 路 is the 116th most common surname in China, shared by 2.35 million people, or 0.18% of the Chinese population. It is distributed widely across China, but the provinces of

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

, and Henan have especially high concentrations of the surname; the four provinces account for 70% of the total population with the surname.

Origins

According to the ninth-century

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

text '' Yuanhe Xing Zuan'', the Lu 路 surname originated from the Red Di state of (潞氏 or 路氏), also called Lu, which was named after the river Lu (present-day Zhuozhang River, a tributary of the Zhang River). In 594 BC Lushi was conquered by Duke Jing, the ruler of the State of Jin, a major power of the Spring and Autumn period. The people of Lu/Lushi subsequently adopted Lu 路 as their surname. Another origin of Lu 路 is the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC) government office of ''luzheng'' (路正), which was responsible for the management of roads and transportation (Lu 路 means road in Chinese). Some descendants of people who held the office adopted Lu as their surname. A third, legendary origin of Lu 路 is from Xuanyuan (玄元), a son of Emperor Zhi and grandson of Emperor Ku. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Luzhong (路中侯) by Emperor Yao, and his descendants adopted Lu (from Luzhong) as their surname.

Later adoption

During the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen (reigned 467–499 AD) implemented a drastic policy of sinicization, ordering his own people to adopt Chinese surnames. The Moluzhen (没路真) tribe of Xianbei adopted Lu 路 as their surname. Some of the Dong people, an ethnic minority group of China, have also adopted Lu 路 as their surname.

Notable people

* Lu Bode (路博德; fl. 119–109 BC), Western Han general, conqueror of Nanyue and

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

* Lu Wenshu (路温舒), Western Han scholar * Lu Huinan (路惠男; 412–466), empress dowager of the Liu Song dynasty * Empress Lu, consort of Emperor Qianfei of Liu Song, niece of Lu Huinan * Lu Sui (路隨; 776–835),

chancellor * Lu Yan (路巖; 829–874), Tang dynasty chancellor * Lu Zhongyi (路中一; 1849–1925), religious leader * Lu Yongxiang (路甬祥; born 1942), former president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences * Lu Yao (路遥; 1949–1992), writer * Ping Lu (路平; Lu Ping; born 1953), Taiwanese writer * Lu Xuechang (路学长; 1964–2014), film director * Jozie Lu (路嘉欣; Lu Jiaxin; born 1979), Taiwanese actress and singer * Lu Jiang (路姜; born 1981), football player * Lu Chen (路晨; born 1987), actress * Johnny Lu (路斯明), born Johnny Chen, Taiwanese-American actor * Suyin Lu, born in Philippines, Soon to be CPA

References

{{surname Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames