Yu
A common East Asian surname, especially Chinese, with several possible characters and meanings depending on the family line.
The #658 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,933 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Yu is a surname found in several East Asian naming traditions, most prominently Chinese. In Chinese it can represent different characters and lineages, so the original meaning is not single or fixed; depending on the character, it may have senses such as "abundance," "rain," "fish," or other unrelated meanings. In Korean and Vietnamese contexts, Yu is likewise an inherited family name written with different underlying characters and origins.
History
In the United States, Yu is especially associated with Chinese immigration and later East Asian diaspora communities, and it ranks among the more common Asian surnames in the 2010 census. Because the Roman spelling collapses multiple original surnames and characters, people written as Yu in English may not share a single ancestry or meaning. The surname is also found in Korea and Vietnam, though those traditions may reflect different source characters and histories.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Roman spelling Yu can cover several completely different Chinese surnames, so two families with the same English spelling may have unrelated origins.