Lu
卢 · traditionally 盧 — Lú
The 50th most common surname in China
5.6 million bearers, 0.475% of China's population, ranked 52nd in 2002; and the 50th most common surname in mainland China in 2019 (English Wikipedia, "Lu (surname 盧)", accessed September 2026). It is especially common in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Hebei.
Where the name comes from
According to the Tang-dynasty genealogy Yuanhe Xing Zuan, the surname arose in the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period: Duke Huan of Qi enfeoffed Gao Xi at the city of Lu (盧), and his descendants took the place name as their surname. A second line traces the name to the minor state of Luzi, in what is now Anhui, whose people likewise adopted their state's name.
The same name, spelled differently
A Chinese surname is a character, not a spelling. The Latin letters on a passport come from whichever dialect the name was written down from — so these are all 卢.
- LuMandarin — mainland China, Taiwan
- Lo / LohCantonese
- LawSingapore
- Lư / LôVietnamese
- Roh / No / Noh / RoKorean
The character
Outside a name, 卢 is an ordinary word meaning cottage, hut; black.
- Strokes
- 5
- Radical
- ⺊
- Traditional
- 盧
- As a word
- lú
Other surnames read “Lu”
Romanised the same way, but a different character and a different family.