Wu (吳 / 巫 / 伍)
3 Taiwanese surnames carry the spelling Wu.
吳 Wu
- Zhuyin
- ㄨˊ
- Pinyin
- wú
- Wade-Giles
- Wu
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Ngôo
- Hakka (Sixian)
- ng¹¹
- Rank in Taiwan
- 7th most common surname, roughly 4% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
As a verb it means 'to speak loudly'; it is also the name of the ancient state of Wu and of the Suzhou region.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to Taibo (泰伯) and Zhongyong (仲雍), sons of Gugong Danfu of Zhou, who moved south and founded the state of Wu in the lower Yangtze region. Once Wu fell to Yue, its people adopted the state's name as their surname. Hall name (堂號): 延陵堂.
Saying it 我姓吳 — wǒ xìng wú (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄨˊ), "my family name is 吳"
巫 Wu
- Zhuyin
- ㄨ
- Pinyin
- wū
- Wade-Giles
- Wu
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Bû
- Hakka (Sixian)
- mu¹¹
- Rank in Taiwan
- 87th most common surname, roughly 0.12% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
'Shaman', meaning a person who mediates with spirits.
Where the surname comes from
According to tradition, it goes back to Wu Peng (巫彭), a physician of the Yellow Emperor, and more broadly to families of hereditary shamans and diviners. Hall name (堂號): 平陽堂.
Saying it 我姓巫 — wǒ xìng wū (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄨ), "my family name is 巫"
伍 Wu
- Zhuyin
- ㄨˇ
- Pinyin
- wǔ
- Wade-Giles
- Wu
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Ngóo
- Hakka (Sixian)
- ng³¹
- Rank in Taiwan
- 99th most common surname, roughly 0.06% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
In ancient times, a unit of five soldiers or five households; 'the army' (as in 入伍); it is also the formal numeral 'five'.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to Wu Can (伍參), a Chu official of the Spring and Autumn period, whose great-grandson was the strategist Wu Zixu (伍子胥). Hall name (堂號): 安定堂.
Saying it 我姓伍 — wǒ xìng wǔ (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄨˇ), "my family name is 伍"
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).