Gu Family History

Chinese : from the place name Gu. Records of the this surname go back to the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc), when there existed a state called Gu. Much later, during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), there existed another state of Gu. Eventually, some descendants of the ruling class of both these areas adopted the place name as their surname. Chinese : from a word meaning ‘valley’. During the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc) there existed in the state of Qin a certain Viscount Fei Zi, a descendant of the legendary emperor Zhuan Xu of the 26th century bc. Viscount Fei Zi was granted the area Qin Valley, and his descendants later adopted the word gu ‘valley’, as their surname. Chinese : from the name of the grandfather of the virtuous duke Wen Wang (1231–1135 bc), known as Gu Gong Tan Fu. The character for Gu, which also means ‘ancient’, was adopted by some of his descendants as a surname.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press