The Ru Family Name#

Surname: Ru, pronounced as rǔ

Regions Where the Ru Family Name Is Found#

The Ru family name can be found in the following areas: Gushi County and Runan County in Xinyang City, Henan Province; Lixin County and Huaibei City in Anhui Province; Tianshui City and Pingliang City in Gansu Province; Urumqi City in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; Fuping County in Shaanxi Province; Beijing; Qitaihe City and the Daxinganling region in Heilongjiang Province; Suzhou City and Wujiang City in Jiangsu Province; Hangzhou City and Jiaxing City in Zhejiang Province; Jinan City, Pingyin County, and Dong'e County in Shandong Province; Wuhan City in Hubei Province; Pu'er City (formerly Simao City) and Ning'er County (now Pu'er County) as well as Luliang County in Yunnan Province; and in Nigeria, Africa, among other places.

Origin of the Ru Family Name#

The Ru family name has the following origins:

1. It originated from the Ji surname, stemming from the fiefdom of the youngest son of King Ping of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. This is an example of a surname derived from the name of the place where one lived. According to the "Xing Yuan Yun Pu" by Zhang Jiuling, a famous minister during the Tang Dynasty, "The youngest son of King Ping of Zhou was granted a fiefdom in Ruzhou, and from him descended the Ru family."
2. It also originated from the Si surname, stemming from the descendants of Ru Jiu and Ru Fang from the Shang Dynasty. This is another example of a surname derived from the name of a ancestors.
3. The Ru surname can also be traced back to place names, specifically the Ruyi area within the royal domain during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. In this case, the surname was derived from the name of the location where people lived.

Ancestor of the Ru Family Name

Ru Jiu is considered the ancestor of the Ru family. When the Ru family name was first established, there was a river in the Central Plains called the Rushui River (located in what is now southern Henan Province, also known as the Ru River). Residents living by the Rushui River adopted this river's name as their surname, possibly out of gratitude for it. After the Zhou Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, King Ping of Zhou granted his youngest son a fiefdom in Ruchuan (also in southern Henan Province), and he was granted the title of Marquis. The descendants of this Marquis adopted the name of their fiefdom as their surname, thus becoming the Ru family. Additionally, during the Shang Dynasty, there were virtuous men named Ru Jiu and Ru Fang who held high-ranking positions; their descendants also adopted the Ru surname and passed it down through generations. According to the "Xing Shi Kou Yuan," the youngest son of King Ping of Zhou was granted a fiefdom in Ruchuan, and from him descended the Ru family. The "Yuan He Xing Zuan" also mentions that the Ru family descended from Ru Jiu, a virtuous man from the Yin Dynasty.

Migration and Distribution

Although the Ru family is an ancient Han Chinese surname, its population does not rank among the top 300 surnames in mainland China or Taiwan Province. In the Song Dynasty version of the "Hundred Family Surnames," it was ranked 462nd. Prominent Ru families originated from the Tianshui Commandery and the Bohai Commandery. The Ru River is the birthplace of the Ru surname in China. There is a Ru River in Henan Province that has been famous since ancient times, and it is mentioned in the "Geography Records" of the "Han Shu." After King Ping of Zhou ascended the throne, he granted his sons fiefdoms and established them as feudal lords. His youngest son was granted a fiefdom in Ruchuan, and his descendants adopted the name of this place as their surname. The Ru family name has continued to thrive and spread ever since.

Notable People with the Ru Surname

Ru Ne (1433–1493), courtesy name Xingmin, was a renowned Ming Dynasty official and calligrapher from Wujiang (now in Jiangsu Province). He wrote works such as the "Huaisu Tang Ji" and the "Pao Weng Jia Cang Ji."