Wu (surname 武)

Wǔ is a Chinese surname. It is Mo in Cantonese. In Vietnamese is written Vũ or Võ. meaning ‘military’ or ‘martial arts’ in Chinese.

Origins

• from Wu Luo (武羅), which is said to be either the name of an official or that of an ancient state in present-day Guangxi during the Xia dynasty[1]
• from the personal name of Wu Ding, king of the Shang dynasty
• from the personal name of Ji Wu (姬武), son of King Ping of Zhou
• from Wu (武), the posthumous title of Duke Wu of Song, king of Song (state), in present day Shangqiu, Henan

Notable people

• Wu Chengsi (武承嗣)
• Wu Song, hero from the Chinese classic Outlaws of the Marsh
• Wu Zetian (武则天, acquired surnames, her birth name is unknown)
• Wu Chengsi (Chinese: 武承嗣; Pinyin: Wǔ Chéngsì) (died July 22, 698), formally Prince Xuan of Wei (魏宣王), was a nephew of Chinese sovereign Wu Zetian
• Wu Youji (武攸暨) (died July 17, 712), formally Prince Zhongjian of Ding (定忠簡王), was an imperial prince of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty
• Wu Yuxiang (1812–1880) was a t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan) teacher and government official active during the late Qing dynasty
• Maggie Wei Wu (武衛), Chinese business executive and Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group
• Wu Lei (footballer) 武磊, Chinese footballer
• Wu Changshun (born January 1954) is the former police chief of the municipality of Tianjin, China
• Wu Dawei (武大伟; born 1946) was the previous special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs and former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
• Wu Weihua (Chinese: 武维华; pinyin: Wǔ Wéihuá; born September 1956) is chairperson of the Jiusan Society
• Wu Yi (singer), (武艺; born 1990), also known as Philip Wu and Philip Lau, is a Chinese pop singer who was the second runner-up of Super Boy

References

1. Patrick Hanks, Peter McClure, and Richard Coates, The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland