The Luo Clan#

Surname: Luo, pronounced as “luó”

Regions with a Luo Clan Population**#

Yuzhang County in Jiangxi Province, and Changsha County in Hunan Province.

Origins of the Luo Clan#

The origin of the “Luo” surname can be traced back to the following:

1. It may have originated from the “?” surname, with people taking the name of their former state as their own. According to “Tongzhi · Shizhu Lüe · Yiguo Weishi” (General Records ·Brief Accounts of Clans and Surnames), during the Zhou Dynasty, there was a state named Luo, which was initially granted the fief of Yicheng (present-day Yicheng County, Hubei Province) and later moved to Zhijiang. This state was conquered by the Chu Dynasty during the Spring and Autumn period. At the end of the Zhou Dynasty, the people of Luo settled in Changsha and adopted the name of their former state, “Luo,” as their surname.
2. Some claim that the Luo surname derives from descendants of the ancient emperor Zhu Rong.
3. During the Tang Dynasty, a Khagan of the Western Turks named Hushiluo entered China; his descendants adopted the surname Hushiluo, which was later changed to Luo.
4. In some cases, the Luo surname resulted from the combination of several Xianbei surnames. As recorded in “Weishu · Guanshi Zhi” (Book of Wei · Records of Official Families), during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a Xianbei surname called “Poduoluo” in the northern part of China. After following Emperor Xiaowen of Wei to Luoyang, they adopted the Han surname “Luo.”
5. During the Qing Dynasty, some members of the imperial Aisin Gioro clan changed their surname to Luo; their descendants also continued to use the Luo surname. This prominent clan resided in Yuzhang County (Nanchang, Jiangxi Province).
6. According to “Houhan Shu · Nanman Zhuan” (Book of the Later Han Dynasty · Accounts of the Southern Barbarians) and “Huayang Guozhi” (Records of the Huayang Kingdom), the Luo surname was also among the “seven prominent surnames” in that region.

Population Distribution

The Luo clan has a population of over 10 million, making it one of the top twenty most common surnames in China, accounting for approximately 0.86% of the national population. Over the past 600 years (since the Ming Dynasty), the Luo population has increased significantly from 700,000 to over 10 million, a growth of 15 times. The growth rate of the Luo clan has been faster than the national average. The distribution of the Luo clan is mainly concentrated in Sichuan, Guangdong, and Hunan provinces, which together account for about 41% of the total Luo population. Additional significant populations are found in Jiangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hubei, Guangxi, and Chongqing, which account for another 38% of the total. Sichuan is the province with the largest Luo population, accounting for 17% of the total. China has two regions with a high concentration of the Luo clan: the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan-Chongqing area and the Guangdong-Guangxi-Hunan-Hubei-Fujian-Jiangxi region.

Migration Patterns

In the past 600 years, the migration pattern of the Luo clan has shifted from the eastern to the central and northern parts of China. Immigration to the west and south has become the main trend, with some also moving towards the northwestern Hexi Corridor. The frequency of the Luo surname across different regions indicates that it is relatively common in areas south of the Yangtze River. In regions such as Yunnan, Guizhou, most of Sichuan and Chongqing, Guangdong, Guangxi, and parts of Hunan and Fujian, the Luo surname accounts for more than 1.44% of the local population, with some areas having a proportion of over 3%. This covers approximately 20% of China’s total area and includes about 63% of the Luo population.

Notable People with the Luo Surname

• Luo Guanzhong: A prominent novelist from the late Yuan to early Ming dynasties, from present-day Taiyuan, Shanxi. He is known for writing historical romances, including “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” which is one of the “Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature.”
• Luo Ronghuan: A modern military strategist and politician, a marshal of the People’s Republic of China, and one of the founders and leaders of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.