Du Family History

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 杜 meaning ‘birchleaf pear’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by descendants of Du Kang (杜康) an official noted as a winemaker during the reign of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (ii) from the placename Du (杜) the name of a city (located in Shaanxi province) granted to Du Bo (杜伯 the Earl of Du) head of the state of Du (杜) who was eventually killed by King Xuan of Zhou (reigned 827–782 BC). After that the state of Du (杜) was annexed and the name of the state was adopted as a surname. (iii) adopted as a surname by the Du Gu Hun (獨孤渾) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 都 meaning ‘capital’ in Chinese: (i) from the personal name Zi Du (子都) style name of Gong-Sun Yu an official in the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) shortened form of the compound surname Gong Du (公都) which is sometimes traced back to Tian a prince in the state of Chu who was granted the fief Du (都) or alternatively to Gong Du Zi (公都子) an official in the state of Qi. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 堵 meaning ‘wall’ in ancient Chinese: habitational name from the placename Du (堵) the name of a fief (located in present-day Henan province) granted to Xie Bo an official in the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 度 meaning ‘measurement of length’ in ancient Chinese: (i) traced back to the inhabitants in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC). (ii) borne by descendants of officials in charge of regularizing units of length measurement in markets in ancient China.(iii) said to be one of the seven surnames from the Bandun Man ancestors of today's Tujia ethnic group in China who in the third century BC lived in southwestern China. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 督 meaning ‘to supervise’ in Chinese: (i) from the second element of the personal name Hua Du (華督) style name of the grandson of the Duke Dai of Song (ruler of the state of Song died 766 BC). (ii) from the first element of the personal name Du Rong (督戎) an official in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) from the first element of the placename Du Kang (督亢) the name of a fertile land (located in present-day Henan province) in the state of Yan during Warring States Period (475– 221 BC). (iv) a surname from the minority ethnic groups in southwestern China during the Eastern Han dynasty (25 – 220 AD). Vietnamese (Dư): from the Chinese surname 余 see Yu 7: Vietnamese (Dũ): from the Chinese surname 俞 see Yu 8: Vietnamese: from the Chinese surname 游 see You

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022