Chu Family History

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 楚 meaning ‘pain’ or ‘clear’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from Chu (楚), the name of a state (covering Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi provinces) originally granted to Xiong Yi and finally annexed by the state of Qin in 223 BC. (ii) from the personal name Chu (楚), personal name of Lin Chu (林楚), an official in the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) borne by descendants of Chu Long (楚隆), an official in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).

Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 褚, meaning ‘padding in garment’: (i) from Chu (褚), the name of a fief (located in Luoyang in Henan province) granted to Duan, prince of the state of Song, who was revered for his virtue and known as Chu Shi (褚師). (ii) possibly from Chu (褚), the name of a pavilion or a canal (located in Luoyang in Henan province).

Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 儲, meaning ‘store’ in Chinese: from the first element of the personal name Chu Zi (儲子), style name of an official in the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 初, meaning ‘initial’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by the descendants of Shu Xiong, third son of the king Xiong Yan (died 828 BC) in the state of Chu during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). (ii) said to be traced back to the royal families of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC). (iii) said to be traced back to Xue Hongzuo, a general during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD) who was endowed with the surname Chu (初) by Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei (408–452 AD).

Chinese: Cantonese form and alternative Mandarin form of the surnames 朱 and 諸. Also alternative Mandarin form of the surnames 祝, 竺, and 竹. Additionally, Chinese: alternative Mandarin form of the surnames 曲, 瞿, 屈, 鞠, 麴, 璩, and 渠, and variants for the surnames 鞠, 居, 巨, 琚, 劇, 祖, 周, 僅, 趙, 招, 邱, and 丘, and in Korean, written 주 in Chinese characters 朱 meaning ‘red’ and 周 meaning ‘round’. Vietnamese: from the Chinese surname 朱 (see Zhu), with Chử from 褚, possibly a variant of Châu (see Chau).