Ku
A short surname that can come from several different East Asian family-name traditions, most often written with characters whose meanings vary by lineage.
The #6,877 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 63,164 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ku is a surname found in several unrelated naming traditions, so its exact origin depends on the family line and original written form. In Chinese usage it may reflect different characters and therefore different meanings, while in Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese contexts it can also represent distinct surnames or romanizations. Because the same Roman spelling can map to multiple East Asian names, the literal meaning cannot be pinned down without the original script.
History
In the United States, Ku is usually an immigrant surname or a romanized form of an East Asian family name. Its modern distribution reflects twentieth-century migration from Chinese-speaking communities and, to a lesser extent, other East Asian communities. The simple spelling also makes it common for different original surnames to collapse into the same English form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Ku is so short, it is one of those surnames where the original character is often more important than the Roman spelling for determining its true meaning.