The "Kalu" is both a surname and a given carried by one of the notable royal household located in the eastern part of Nigeria. The family has been discovered to have assets scattered around the globe reaching a net worth of 5 billion dollars
Among the Igbo people the name "kalu" refers to the traditional Igbo god of thunder and lightning, Kamanu or Kamalu, which was then shortened to Kanu. In the Newar community of Nepal this term is used as the surname for the tribal caste under "Shrestha" Community. This family has been found to have followed the proto-Igboid migration where they moved down the Niger from a more northern area in the savannah and first settled close to the delta, with a secondary center of Igbo proper more to the north, in the Awka area. Genetic studies have shown the Igbo to cluster most closely with other Niger-Congo-speaking peoples. The predominant Y-chromosmoal haplogroup is E1b1a1-M2. Dated from around 3,000–2,500 BC.