Dugu (獨孤) is an extremely rare

Chinese compound surname A Chinese compound surname is a Chinese surname using more than one character. Many of these compound surnames derive from Zhou dynasty Chinese noble and official titles, professions, place names and other areas, to serve a purpose. Some are origi ...

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...

origin. There is also a small Korean population (

Namwon Dokgo clan Namwon Dokgo clan () is one of the Korean clans. Their Bon-gwan is in Namwon, North Jeolla Province. According to research conducted in 2000, the number of Namwon Dokgo clan members was 452. Their founder was who was from Henan. was one of the E ...

) with this surname (stylized as Dokgo or Tokko (독고) in Korean); many of them are found in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

, mainly in

Ryongchon County Ryongch'ŏn County is a ''kun'' (county) in North P'yǒngan province, North Korea, at the mouth of the Yalu River. The county seat is Ryongch'ŏn-ŭp, about from the border with China. The area has a reported population of 27,000 and is a centr ...

and

Uiju County Ŭiju County is a kun, or county, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The county has an area of 420 km², and a population of 110,018 (2008 data). Name Ŭiju appears as Uiju in South Korea's Revised Romanization and as Yizhou in Chinese ...

near the Chinese border. During the 6th century the Dugus were a powerful aristocratic family based in

northwest China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...

. They are best remembered today by the

Dugu sisters The Dugu sisters were part-Xianbei, part-Han sisters of the Dugu clan who lived in the Western Wei (535–557), Northern Zhou (557–581) and Sui (581–618) dynasties of China. All were daughters of the Western Wei general Dugu Xin. The eldest ...

, whose marriages linked the imperial families of 3 successive dynasties — the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty a ...

(557–581), Sui (581–618), and

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

(618–907). Shimunek (2017) reconstructs

Tabgach The Tuoba (reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciation: *''tʰak-bɛt''), also known as the Taugast or Tabgach ( otk, 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲 ''Tabγač''), was a Xianbei clan in Imperial China.Wei Shou. '' Book of Wei''. Vol. 1 During the Sixteen King ...

*''dʊqʊ'' which underlied Chinese transcription , which was glossed as "battle-axe".

Notable people

Dugu Xin Dugu Xin ( Chinese: 獨孤信; 503 – 24 April 557), Xianbei name Qimitou (期彌頭), known as Dugu Ruyuan (獨孤如願) before 540, was a prominent general and official during the chaotic Northern and Southern dynasties period of imperial Chi ...

(503–557), Western Wei general and official *

(6th century), Dugu Xin's daughters **

Empress Dugu (Northern Zhou) Empress Dugu or Queen Dugu personal name Dugu Banruo (536 - 14 May 558), posthumously Empress Mingjing (明敬皇后), was the wife of the Emperor Ming (Yuwen Yu) of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China. She was the eldest daughter of ...

(died 558), Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou (Yuwen Yu)'s empress **

Dugu Qieluo Dugu Qieluo or Dugu Jialuo (; 544 – September 10, 602), formally Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后), was an empress of the Chinese Sui dynasty. She was the wife of Emperor Wen, who, on account of his love and respect for her, as well as an oath t ...

(544–602), Emperor Wen of Sui (Yang Jian)'s empress * Consort Dugu (died 775), Emperor Daizong of Tang (Li Chu)'s concubine *

Dugu Sun Dugu Sun () (died July 5, 905''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷265, vol. 265.Academia Sinica]Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Yousun (又損),''New Book of Tang'', vol. 75. was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serv ...

(died 905), Tang dynasty minister *

Dugu Qiubai Dugu Qiubai is a fictional character who is mentioned by name in three wuxia novels by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). He does not appear in any of the novels because he lived in an era long before the events of the novels took place. Nicknamed "Sword D ...

, a fictional master swordsman that has been mentioned in several of Jin Yong's works.

References

Chinese-language surnames Korean-language surnames of Chinese origin Xianbei Individual Chinese surnames {{Surname-stub