Tu (杜 / 涂)
2 Taiwanese surnames carry the spelling Tu.
杜 Tu
- Zhuyin
- ㄉㄨˋ
- Pinyin
- dù
- Wade-Giles
- Tu
- Further spellings of 杜
- Du
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Tōo
- Hakka (Sixian)
- tu⁵⁵
- Rank in Taiwan
- 56th most common surname, roughly 0.23% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
In old usage, the birchleaf pear and other plants; as a verb it means 'to block, prevent' (as in 杜絕).
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to the Tang Du (唐杜) clan, descendants of Emperor Yao, whom King Cheng of Zhou moved to Du (杜) near present-day Xi'an; those who lived there adopted Du as their surname. Hall name (堂號): 京兆堂.
Saying it 我姓杜 — wǒ xìng dù (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄉㄨˋ), "my family name is 杜"
涂 T'u
- Zhuyin
- ㄊㄨˊ
- Pinyin
- tú
- Wade-Giles
- T'u
- Further spellings of 涂
- Tu
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Thôo Thôo is the colloquial (白讀) reading, while tôo is the character's literary (文讀) reading.
- Hakka (Sixian)
- tu¹¹
- Rank in Taiwan
- 64th most common surname, roughly 0.19% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
Also written 凃. Both forms are counted together on this page.
What the character means
In classical texts, 'road, way' (equivalent to 途 and 塗).
Where the surname comes from
Traditional accounts connect it with the Tu River (涂水) or with the Tushan (塗山) clan, the family of Yu the Great's wife, whose name was shortened to a single character. The MOI ranks the written form 凃 separately; its count is included here.
Saying it 我姓涂 — wǒ xìng tú (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄨˊ), "my family name is 涂"
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).