Find out how popular the last name Liu is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Liu.

Liu, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Liu surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Liu in America

Liu is the 411th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Liu surname appeared 78,370 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 27 people would have the surname Liu.

We can also compare 2010 data for Liu to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Liu

The surname Liu has its roots in China and can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). It is derived from the Chinese character "柳", which means willow tree. The name originally referred to people who lived near willow groves or worked with willow branches.

In ancient China, surnames were often derived from geographic features, occupations, or personal characteristics. The Liu surname is believed to have originated in various regions, including the present-day provinces of Hebei, Shandong, and Anhui.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the Liu surname can be found in historical texts such as the Book of Han, which documents notable individuals from the Han Dynasty. One prominent figure was Liu Bang (256 BC - 195 BC), the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, who was originally a peasant but rose to power after the collapse of the Qin Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty (618 AD - 907 AD), the Liu surname gained further prominence. Liu Zongyuan (773 AD - 819 AD), a celebrated poet and essayist, was one of the most influential literary figures of his time. Another notable Liu was Liu Yu (974 AD - 1028 AD), a renowned military general and strategist who helped establish the Song Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty (1368 AD - 1644 AD), the Liu surname was associated with several influential scholars and officials. Liu Ji (1311 AD - 1375 AD) was a prominent Neo-Confucian philosopher and educator, while Liu Zhi (1670 AD - 1724 AD) was a renowned scholar and author of the Qing Dynasty.

Other notable individuals with the Liu surname include Liu Xiang (77 BC - 6 BC), a scholar and astronomer during the Western Han Dynasty, and Liu Xiaobo (1955 AD - 2017 AD), a renowned human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

The Liu surname has been widespread throughout China for centuries and has also been adopted by Chinese communities around the world. Its enduring presence reflects the rich cultural and historical significance of this ancient name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Liu

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Liu.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Liu was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Liu has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Liu was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Liu, please contact us.

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