Hsu
A common romanization of Chinese surnames, especially forms rendered from Mandarin as Xu, with several possible underlying characters and meanings.
The #2,147 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,261 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hsu is an older Wade-Giles-style romanization of the Chinese surname now more often written Xu in pinyin. Because several different Chinese family names are pronounced similarly in modern Mandarin, the English spelling Hsu can represent more than one underlying character and meaning. The surname is therefore best treated as a transliteration rather than a single independently formed English surname.
History
In English-language records, Hsu became a familiar spelling for Chinese immigrants and their descendants before pinyin became the standard romanization in most contexts. It is especially associated with Taiwan and with overseas Chinese communities where older romanization systems remained in use. As a result, the same family name may appear as Hsu in older documents and as Xu in modern standardized forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The spelling Hsu is one reason the surname Xu can look very different from one English-language record to another, even when it refers to the same Chinese family name.
From the historical record
“ovie a^ Sarah Geo. Hsu. Sq. ilton. o, o, 1; Charlotte Dinetey : Si. Geo.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances