Table of contents
Family name origins & meanings
- Chinese :
according to ancient texts, this name originated in the time of the Shang dynasty king Wu Ding (1324–1266 bc). Wu Ding dreamed about a man looking like a prisoner, and was told by a god that this was the wise man that he had been seeking. Wu Ding immediately commissioned a portrait of the mysterious man and searched everywhere for him. Finally, a man who looked exactly like the man in the dream was found performing hard labor building walls in Fu Cliffs (in present-day Shanxi province, by the Great Wall). Wu Ding rescued the man, whose name was Yue, and gave him the name Fu Yue. Fu Yue was made prime minister and, as expected, went on to become a great administrator. His descendants adopted Fu as their surname. - Chinese :
from a character meaning ‘symbol’, ‘tally’, or ‘magic figure’. This was one of the characters in a title meaning ‘keeper of the royal seals’. During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), a grandson of a duke of the state of Lu held a post as the keeper of royal seals. His descendants adopted a character from the job title as their surname. - Chinese :
name borne by descendants of Fu Chen, a senior minister during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc), and of Fu Fu, a member of the royal family of the state of Lu dring the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc).