Family name origins & meanings
- Chinese :
from the place name Gu. Records of the
this surname go back to the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc),
when there existed a state called Gu. Much later, during the Spring
and Autumn period (722–481 bc), there existed another state
of Gu. Eventually, some descendants of the ruling class of both these
areas adopted the place name as their surname. - Chinese :
from a word meaning ‘valley’. During the Zhou dynasty
(1122–221 bc) there existed in the state of Qin a certain
Viscount Fei Zi, a descendant of the legendary emperor Zhuan Xu of the
26th century bc. Viscount Fei Zi was granted the area Qin
Valley, and his descendants later adopted the word gu ‘valley’,
as their surname. - Chinese :
from the name of the
grandfather of the virtuous duke Wen Wang (1231–1135 bc),
known as Gu Gong Tan Fu. The character for Gu, which also means
‘ancient’, was adopted by some of his descendants as a surname.