Situ (surname) explained

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Pic:File:The Door of Situ's Library.JPG
Piccap:The door of the in Chikan, Kaiping, Guangdong province
P:Sītú
W:Ssŭt‘u
Y:Sītòuh
J:Si1tou4

Situ (Chinese: 司徒) is one of the more common surviving Chinese compound surnames. It is also spelled in Wade–Giles as Ssŭtu or in the Mathews system as Szŭtu, and romanised from Cantonese as Szeto, Seto, or Sitou, or from Taishanese as Soohoo.[1] It originates from the ancient Chinese title Situ, which can be translated as "Minister over the Masses".[2] The surname is common in Guangdong province, particularly around Kaiping.[1]

Statistics

According to data from the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China in 2010, Situ was China's fourth-most common compound surname, behind Ouyang, Shangguan, and Huangfu. The census found roughly 45,000 bearers of the surname.[3] However it is not among the top 400 surnames overall in China.

The following table presents statistics for more common spellings of this surname in the United States, according to the United States Census. The Hanyu Pinyin spelling Situ became more common between 2000 and 2010, while Szeto, Seto, and Soohoo remained at roughly the same rankings during that time period. Other spellings such as Ssutu, Szutu, Sitou, and Seetoo occurred fewer than 100 times in census data.[4] Some of these spellings may also correspond to non-Chinese surnames; for example, Seto is also a Japanese surname (written in kanji as Japanese: 瀬戸).[5]

Spelling2010 United States Census2000 United States CensusReferences
RankNumber of people% AsianRankNumber of people% Asian
Situ
  1. 11512
2,732 97.66%
  1. 17449
1,49094.50%[6]
Szeto
  1. 12012
2,59997.66%
  1. 11827
2,42693.98%[7]
Seto
  1. 11229
2,81475.52%
  1. 11444
2,526 79.65%[8]
Soohoo
  1. 18910
1,44488.85%
  1. 18447
1,38289.15%[9]

People

People with this surname include:

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Louie, Emma Woo. Chinese American Names: Tradition and Transition. McFarland. 1988. 9780786438778. 71, 176.
  2. Book: Lim, SK. Origin of Chinese Names. Singapore. Asiapac Books. 2013. 72, 86.
  3. 张、王、李、赵谁最多——2010年人口普查姓氏结构和分布特点. 武洁. 杨建春. 中国统计. 总390期. 21–22. 中国统计出版社. June 2014. 23 November 2018.
  4. Web site: How common is your last name? (Ssutu). Newsday. 5 September 2018.
    Web site: How common is your last name? (Szutu). Newsday. 5 September 2018.
    Web site: How common is your last name? (Sitou). Newsday. 5 September 2018.
    Web site: How common is your last name? (Seetoo). Newsday. 5 September 2018.
  5. Web site: Japanese Names (ENAMDICT) . Jim . Breen . Jim Breen . Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group . 23 November 2018.
  6. Web site: How common is your last name? (Situ). Newsday. 5 September 2018.
  7. Web site: How common is your last name? (Szeto). Newsday. 5 September 2018.
  8. Web site: How common is your last name? (Seto). Newsday. 5 September 2018.
  9. Web site: How common is your last name? (Soohoo). Newsday. 5 September 2018.