Liu (劉 / 柳)
2 Taiwanese surnames carry the spelling Liu.
劉 Liu
- Zhuyin
- ㄌㄧㄡˊ
- Pinyin
- liú
- Wade-Giles
- Liu
- Further spellings of 劉
- Liou
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Lâu
- Hakka (Sixian)
- liu¹¹
- Rank in Taiwan
- 8th most common surname, roughly 3.16% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
In classical texts it denotes an axe-like weapon; as a verb it means 'to kill'.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to Liu Lei (劉累), said to have been a descendant of Emperor Yao and to have tamed dragons for the Xia king Kongjia; a second line descends from Duke Kang of Liu (劉康公) under the Zhou. The imperial family of the Han dynasty bore the name. Hall name (堂號): 彭城堂.
Saying it 我姓劉 — wǒ xìng liú (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄌㄧㄡˊ), "my family name is 劉"
柳 Liu
- Zhuyin
- ㄌㄧㄡˇ
- Pinyin
- liǔ
- Wade-Giles
- Liu
- Further spellings of 柳
- Liou
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Liú
- Hakka (Sixian)
- liu²⁴
- Rank in Taiwan
- 95th most common surname, roughly 0.07% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
The word for 'willow'.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to Zhan Huo (展獲), courtesy name Qin (禽), of the state of Lu, known as Liuxia Hui (柳下惠) after his fief at Liuxia; his descendants adopted Liu as their surname. Hall name (堂號): 河東堂.
Saying it 我姓柳 — wǒ xìng liǔ (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄌㄧㄡˇ), "my family name is 柳"
Sources: rank and share, 內政部 全國姓名統計分析 (Ministry of the Interior, National Name Statistics), data as of 2023-06-30. Taiwanese Hokkien readings, 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 (MOE Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi), 百家姓 appendix. Hakka, 教育部臺灣客語辭典 (MOE Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka), 百家姓表, Sixian (四縣腔).