Du () 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, ...

. The name is spelled ''Tu'' in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. In

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

it is spelled as ''To'' and in

Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...

as ''Tou'', based on the pronunciation of 杜 in

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 ...

. In

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, it is spelled as '' Toh'', based on the pronunciation of 杜 in

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

. The Vietnamese equivalent of the surname is Đỗ. However, when diacritics are dropped, it can also be from the Vietnamese surnames Dư 余 or Dũ 俞 (for both, the Chinese equivalent is Yu). It is the 129th surname in ''

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

'' and is the 42nd most common surname in Mainland China as of 2020.

Origin and Branches of ''Du'' (杜)

The ancestors of the ''Du'' family are known as the Tangdu. The Tangdu resided southeast of

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

province. The '' Fan'' (范) and ''Du'' clans share a common ancestor. Some members of the ''Du'' (杜) family are the

Tuoba The Tuoba (Chinese language, Chinese) or Tabgatch (, ''Tabγač''), also known by #Names, other names, was an influential Xianbei clan in early imperial China. During the Sixteen Kingdoms after the fall of Han and the Three Kingdoms, the Tuoba e ...

(拓跋) family of Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. "Dugu" is the surname of

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 ...

Meanings of ''Du'' (杜)

* The Chinese name of Pyrus betulifolia, a deciduous tree of the genus pear in the rosaceae. * A verb: to stop; to prevent; to restrict

People with this name

Du

* Du Fu (杜甫) (712–770),

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 ...

poet, considered one of China's greatest * Du Yu (杜預) (222–285), Jin dynasty classicist, wrote an influential commentary to the '' Zuozhuan'' *

Du Shi Du Shi (, d. 38'' Book of Later Han'', vol. 31Crespigny, 183.) was a Chinese hydrologist, inventor, mechanical engineer, metallurgist, and politician of the Eastern Han dynasty. Du Shi is credited with being the first to apply hydraulic power ...

(杜詩) (d. 85),

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

mechanical engineer, credited with the invention of the water-powered blast furnace * Du Ji (杜畿) (d. 224),

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

official, grandfather of Du Yu * Du Mu (杜牧) (803–852), Tang dynasty poet * Lady Du Qiu (杜秋娘) (fl. 807–831), Tang dynasty poet * Du Ruhui (杜如晦) (585–630), Tang dynasty chancellor * Du Yan (杜淹) (d. 628), Tang dynasty chancellor, uncle of Du Ruhui * Du Fuwei (杜伏威) (d. 624), Sui dynasty military leader * Du Shenquan (杜审权) (d. 870), former ''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (, Old Turkic: Tarduş) or jiedu, was a regional military governor in China; the title was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissi ...

'' during the late Tang Dynasty * Du Rangneng (杜讓能) (841–893), late Tang dynasty military leader * Du Jin (杜堇) (ca. 1465–1509),

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

painter * Du Hong (杜洪) (d. 905), late Tang dynasty warlord * Du Wei (杜伟) (1968–2020), Chinese diplomat * Soon Ja Du, Korean-American shopkeeper convicted in the killing of Latasha Harlins * Junping Du (杜军平), Chinese computer scientist

Duh, Taw, To, Toh, Tu

* Woody Duh (杜紫軍), Vice Premier of the Republic of China (2016) * Taw Sein Ko (杜成誥/杜成浩), Burma's first archaeologist * Alex To (杜德偉/杜德伟), a singer from

Johnnie To Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong filmmaker. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in the West he is best known for his H ...

(杜琪峯/杜琪峰), a film director from

Chapman To Chapman To (, born 8 June 1972), born Edward Ng Cheuk-cheung (), is a Hong Kong-Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his roles in films such as ''Infernal Affairs'' and ''Initial D (film), Initial D''. He is also the founder of his own multimedia ...

, an actor from Hong Kong * Tu Cheng-sheng, Taiwanese politician * Loring W. Tu, Taiwanese-American mathematician * Toh Chin Chye, (杜进才; 1921–2012), a prominent first generation political leader in

* Toh Aik Choon (; 1927–1990), Singaporean shipbuilding industry businessman * Sylvia Toh (; born 1946/1947), Singaporean newspaper columnist * Toh Wei Soong (杜维崧; born 1998), Singaporean swimmer * Toh Ee Wei (; born 2000), Malaysian badminton player

都

It was found to be the 330th most common surname, shared by 140,060 people or 0.011% of the population, with the province with the most being

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 ...

. * Du Mu (Ming dynasty), (Chinese: 都穆; 1459–1525) was a Chinese poet, scholar and art critic from Suzhou * Ray Du English (Chinese: 阿滴英文) is a Taiwanese educational YouTube channel hosted by 2 siblings, one of whom is internet personality Ray Du (都省瑞)

References

External links

Origin of the surname Du, Tu, Do
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du (Surname) Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames