鬱姓
The Yu surname originated from four main sources, including Yu the Great's teacher and ancient states/places, and merged from two distinct clans due to Chinese character simplification, with some members descending from ethnic minorities.
The Yu Clan
The surname is Yu (pronounced: yù).
Originally, “Yu” and “Yu” were two separate surnames, which merged due to the simplification of Chinese characters.
In the Northern Song Dynasty edition of the “Hundred Family Surnames,” there were indeed two entries for the surname “Yu.” One was listed at position 181: Yu Danhang Hong; the other was at position 284: Chi Qiao Yin Yu. The main reason for this merger was that the character “Yu” was simplified, resulting in the combination of the two distinct surnames.
Origins of the Yu Clan
There are four main origins of the Yu Clan:
- It originates from Yu Hua, the teacher of the great Yu the Great. His descendants adopted his name as their surname.
- It originates from the state of Yu; a high-ranking official from the state of Wu was granted a fief in the area of Yu, and his descendants took the name of the state as their surname.
- It originates from a place name. There was a region within the state of Lu called Fangyi, which was pronounced the same as “Yu,” and the residents there adopted “Yu” as their surname.
- It originates from the descendants of Yu Huang, the chancellor of the state of Lu. During the Spring and Autumn period, Yu Huang was granted a fief in Liyang (present-day Xun County, Henan Province), and thus he is historically known as “Duke Liyang.” Since Yu Huang was a prominent chancellor, the area was also called “Yu Land.” His descendants eventually settled in the Wuxing region of Zhejiang, where the Yu Clan took shape.
Many members of the Yu Clan also came from ethnic minorities who changed their surnames. For example, among the Xianbei people, there was a tribe called the Wanyu Tribe, which later adopted the Han surname Yu.