Yu () is one of the

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

. It is listed as the 90th surname in the "

Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dy ...

". It is also sometimes translated to Yee, the

Taishanese Taishanese (), alternatively romanized in Cantonese as Toishanese or Toisanese, in local dialect as Hoisanese or Hoisan-wa, is a dialect of Yue Chinese native to Taishan, Guangdong. Although it is related to Cantonese, Taishanese has littl ...

spelling, in English. The name is transliterated as ''Dư'' in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

but is very rare in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, it is transliterated as Oe (from Hokkien ) It is the 90th name on the ''

'' poem.K. S. Tom. 989(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. .

History

Yu ( 余) is a typical name in the southern area of China. Its place of origin of this name is thought to be in the area of Fengxiang (鳳翔) to

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

(咸陽) in

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

. The Yu moved and settled in the She County (歙縣) in

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

. During this period, the Yu became a prominent clan in the prefecture of Xin An (新安郡),

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

. Because of the war in the north at that time, they moved to the south, to places like

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

and

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

. After the Han dynasty, the surname became quite well-spread in the southern China, less so in northern China. Many of the Yu moved into counties like

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

and

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

in southern China during the

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

. After the

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

the surname became widespread and very well known in the southeast area of China. At this point they moved into other places like

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

and

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. During the Spring and Autumn period of China, there was an court physician of the

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

state known as You Yu (由余). His descendants used the surnames You (由) or Yu (余). Some non-Han Chinese people adopted the Yu surname, such as the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

, Chi Di,

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

Manchus The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

, Qiang and

Miao Miao may refer to: * Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China * Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages * Miao (Unicode ...

Notable people

Annie Ee Yu Lian Annie Ee Yu Lian (余玉莲 Yú Yùlián; – 13 April 2015) was a Singaporean waitress who was cruelly abused for eight months before she died on 13 April 2015 at the age of 26. Ee's abusers were her 31-year-old childhood friend Tan Hui Zhen (� ...

, Singaporean abuse and murder victim *

Amos Yee use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

, Singapore YouTuber, blogger and activist. *

Audrey Eu Audrey Eu Yuet-mee is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and was founding leader of the Civic Party. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Civic Party, focusing on party development. In politics, Eu has fo ...

, Hong Kong politician. *

Candice Yu Candice Yu (Yu On On; born Yu De Ying; 22 October 1959) is a Hong Kong film actress and occasional singer best known for her films with Shaw Brothers Studio of the 1970s and 1980s. She was the first wife of Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat. Film c ...

, Hong Kong actress. *

Charmaine Yee Charmaine Yee, also known as Yee Kah Yan (), is a Singaporean radio presenter. Yee is currently a radio presenter and producer at Kiss 92FM and also works as a presentation coach. Early life and education Yee attended CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls ...

, Singapore radio announcer and host. *

Dennis Yu Dennis Yu Yun-kong (余允抗) is a Hong Kong film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. ...

, film director. * James Yee, Former US Army Chaplain. *

Eu Tong Sen Eu Tong Sen (; 23 July 1877 – 11 May 1941) was a leading businessman in Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong during the late 19th and early 20th century. He was vice-president of the Anti-Opium Society and a member of the Kinta Sanitary Boar ...

, businessman. * Jiyuan Yu, a moral philosopher. *

Leland Yee Leland Yin Yee (, born November 20, 1948) is an American former politician who served as a member of the California State Senate for District 8, which covered parts of San Francisco and the Peninsula. In 2015, Yee pleaded guilty to felony racket ...

, former Californian senator. *

Patrick Yu Patrick Yu Shuk Siu (; August 22, 1922 – January 12, 2019) was a celebrated trial and appellate lawyer in Hong Kong. Biography Born into an intellectual Chinese family in Hong Kong, with ancestry from Taishan, Guangdong, Yu was educated a ...

, Hong Kong lawyer. *

Shawn Yue Shawn Yue Man-lok (born 13 November 1981) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. A former model, he has starred in many films, such as '' Jiang Hu'', '' Infernal Affairs II'', the ''Love in the Buff'' film series, '' Mad World'' and '' The Brink'', and ...

, Hong Kong actor and singer. *

Yu Cheng-hsien Yu Cheng-hsien (; born 8 May 1959) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Minister of the Interior from 2002 to 2004. Political careers 2008 legislative election * All registered: 242,349 * Voters (turnout): 156,440 (64.55%) * Valid (percent ...

, Minister of the Interior of the Republic of China (2002–2004) * Yu Ching-tang, Vice Premier of the Republic of China (1963–1966) *

Yu Hua Yu Hua (; born April 3, 1960, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province) is a Chinese author. Shortly after his debut as a fiction writer in 1983, his first breakthrough came in 1987, when he released the short story '' On the Road at Age Eighteen''. Yu ...

, contemporary novelist and writer * Yu Jingxi, a Chinese League of Legends profession player for the team World Elite (Team WE). * Yu Jingtian, Chinese singer，

Youth With You (season 3) ''Youth With You 3'' () is a 2021 Chinese male group survival show by iQIYI. The third season features 119 trainees from different entertainment agencies, to form a 9-member male group through global viewers' votes. The group IXFORM officially d ...

Yu Nan Yu Nan (, born 5 September 1978) is a Chinese actress. Born in Dalian, Yu Nan studied at the Beijing Film Academy, where she graduated in 1999. Career Yu Nan started acting at the age of 4, playing role of a little girl with a handkerchief t ...

, famed actress. *

Yu Qiuli Yu Qiuli (; 15 November 1914 – 3 February 1999) was a Chinese Communist army officer and politician, general of the People's Liberation Army. A veteran of the Long March, he held top military and government positions under both Mao Zedong and ...

, a high-ranking member of China's Communist Party. * Yu Xuntan, pen name Liu Shahe, author *

Yu Ying-shih Yu Ying-shih (; 22 January 1930 – 1 August 2021) was a Chinese-born American historian, sinologist, and the Gordon Wu '58 Professor of Chinese Studies, Emeritus, at Princeton University. He was known for his mastery of sources for Chinese hi ...

, a Chinese-born American historian and sinologist * Yu Zhengui, Muslim historian and scholar *

Kelvin Han Yee Kelvin Han Yee (born June 14, 1961, San Francisco, California) is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films such as '' Destroyer'', ''Milk'' (as Gordon Lau), '' Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star'' (as Vietnamese Crime Boss), '' Lucky Yo ...

, American actor *

, businessman *

Richard Eu Richard Eu Yee Ming (; born 1947) is a Singaporean businessperson and musician. He is the chairman of healthcare firm Eu Yan Sang. Early life Richard Eu Yee Ming was born in 1947, to a wealthy ethnic Chinese household of Cantonese ancestry. He ...

grandson, Businessman and Musician

References

{{100 Most Common Family Names in Mainland China Individual Chinese surnames Chinese-language surnames