Liǔ (, ) is an

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

n surname of Chinese origin found in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, as well as in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. It is the 60th name 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 language , Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book ...

'' poem.K. S. Tom.

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat Bardas Phokas (the Younger), who suffe ...

(1989). ''Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom''.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. . During antiquity, the Liu family emigrated to Korea around the

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

era, where they were given them the surname ''Liu''. The Korean spelling of the surname is usually written in English as ''Ryu'' or ''Yoo''. In the modern era, some

Japanese people are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them list of contempora ...

have migrated throughout East Asia and adopted the surname. In

, the name is spelled Liễu. In ancient times,

Yao people The Yao people () or Dao () is a classification for various ethnic minorities in China and Vietnam. Their majority branch is also known as Mien. They originated in the areas around Changsha, which today is the capital of Hunan province. They s ...

with the surname ''Liu'' emigrated from

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

to Vietnam, where the spelling of the name changed from Liu to Lieu when romanised.

Origin

*The Posterity of Emperor Yi of Chu adopted the surname Liu, bearing the regional name of Liu Country in

Changde Changde (; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 常德區 ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. Changde, known as "Wuling" in ancient times, is located on the west side of Do ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

, China * Zhan Huo was given the posthumous name , thus believing that his descendants would receive the surname Liu *The ancient

Miao people Miao is a word that the Chinese use to designate some ethnic minority groups living in southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia. Miao is thus officially recognized by the Chinese government as one of the largest ethnic minority groups that h ...

used the surname Liu *The ancient

used the surname Liu *During the

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 ...

, the Yang family used the name Liu

Notable people with this name

Liu Gongquan Liu Gongquan (), courtesy name Chengxuan () (778—865), was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, and politician who lived during the late Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty. Liu Gongquan was especially famous for regular script () and was one of the 4 calli ...

(, 778–865) a

Tang poet Tang poetry () refers to poetry written in or around the time of or in the characteristic style of China's Tang dynasty, (June 18, 618 – June 4, 907, including the 690–705 reign of Wu Zetian) and/or follows a certain style, often considered a ...

and

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

Liu Zongyuan Liu Zongyuan (; 77328 November 819)，courtesy name Zihou (), was a Chinese philosopher, prose writer, poet, and politician who lived during the Tang dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi. Along with Han Yu, he was a leader of th ...

(, 773–819), a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

during the

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 ...

Liu Yizheng Liu Yizheng (; 1880–1956) was a Chinese historian, calligrapher, librarian, cultural scholar, educator, and academic leader. He is known for his personal charisma, spirit and eruditeness. In modern Chinese academic field, it is said that the num ...

(, 1880–1956) a modern historian * Liu Zhesheng (, 1914-1991), ace-fighter pilot of the War of Resistance/WWII for the Chinese Air Force *

Liu Chuanzhi Liu Chuanzhi (; born 29 April 1944) is a Chinese entrepreneur. Liu is the founder of Lenovo, the world's largest personal computer vendor by unit sales. He remains one of the leaders of the company. Business activities Lenovo By the early ...

(, born 1944) Chinese businessman, founder of Lenovo * Liu Yan (, born 1980), actress, singer, and television personality *

Norman C.T. Liu Norman C.T. Liu is a Chinese-American business executive and former Senior Advisor to ICBC Leasing based in Beijing, China. During the fall of 2021, he was named President & CEO of Nordic Aviation Capital, the world's largest regional aircraft le ...

(), Chinese-American businessman, Senior Advisor at ICBC Leasing, former Chairman, President & CEO of GE Commercial Aviation Services

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames