| Lù (路) | |
| Pronunciation: | Lù (Mandarin) Lo (Cantonese) |
| Language: | Chinese |
| Language origin: | Old Chinese |
| Origin: | Lushi state |
| Meaning: | "road" |
Lu is a Chinese surname. It is also spelled Lo according to the Cantonese pronunciation. Lu 路 is listed 138th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.[1] Lu 路 is the 116th most common surname in China, with a total population of 2.35 million.
As of 2013, Lu 路 is the 116th most common surname in China, shared by 2.35 million people, or 0.18% of the Chinese population. It is distributed widely across China, but the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, and Henan have especially high concentrations of the surname; the four provinces account for 70% of the total population with the surname.[2]
According to the ninth-century Tang dynasty text Yuanhe Xing Zuan, the Lu 路 surname originated from the Red Di state of (潞氏 or 路氏), also called Lu, which was named after the river Lu (present-day Zhuozhang River, a tributary of the Zhang River). In 594 BC Lushi was conquered by Duke Jing, the ruler of the State of Jin, a major power of the Spring and Autumn period. The people of Lu/Lushi subsequently adopted Lu 路 as their surname.[2] [3] [4]
Another origin of Lu 路 is the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC) government office of luzheng (路正), which was responsible for the management of roads and transportation (Lu 路 means road in Chinese). Some descendants of people who held the office adopted Lu as their surname.[2]
A third, legendary origin of Lu 路 is from Xuanyuan (玄元), a son of Emperor Zhi and grandson of Emperor Ku. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Luzhong (路中侯) by Emperor Yao, and his descendants adopted Lu (from Luzhong) as their surname.[4]
During the Xianbei Northern Wei dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen (reigned 467–499 AD) implemented a drastic policy of sinicization, ordering his own people to adopt Chinese surnames. The Moluzhen (没路真) tribe of Xianbei adopted Lu 路 as their surname.[2]
Some of the Dong people, an ethnic minority group of China, have also adopted Lu 路 as their surname.[2]