Di Family History

Chinese:: Mandarin form of the surname 狄, a term referring to the tribes in ancient northern China: (i) from Di (狄), the name of an ancient state (thought to have been located in Hebei or Shandong province), which was granted to Xiao Bo or Kao Bo by King Cheng of Zhou (reigned 1042–1021 BC). (ii) adopted as a surname by the Ku Di (庫狄) family during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). (iii) traced back to other minority ethnic groups in ancient northwestern China.

Mandarin form of the Chinese surname 邸 meaning ‘official residence’ in Chinese: (i) from placename Di (邸), the name of a county (unidentified location). (ii) said to be borne by some descendants of Kujula Kadphises (called 丘就郤 or 邸就郤 in Chinese 30–c. 80 AD), founder of the Kushan Empire (one branch of the Yuezhi people originating from western China) located in Central Asia during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD).

Teochew, Hokkien, and Taiwanese form of the surname 池, see Chi. The dialects of this pronunciation are found in eastern Guangdong, Fujian, and Taiwan, from where many people migrated to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and other parts of Southeast Asia.