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Updated January 23, 2020

Family name origins & meanings

  • Chinese : from the name of a place called Quwo, which existed in the state of Jin during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). A duke’s son was granted this place as a fiefdom, and in due course his descendants adopted Qu as their surname.
  • Chinese : from the name of one of the ‘Three Gorges’ of the Yangtze river, Qutang Gorge. The first character of the name of the gorge gave its name to residents of the area.
  • Chinese : from a city named Qu in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). After it was granted to a member of the royal family, descendants adopted the name of the city as their surname.

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