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

Tu, 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 Tu surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tu in America

Tu is the 3835th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tu surname appeared 9,230 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Tu.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tu 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 Tu

The surname Tu is believed to have originated in China, where it has been recorded for many centuries. It is derived from the Chinese word "tu," which means "earth" or "soil," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked the land or lived in a rural area.

One of the earliest known references to the Tu surname can be found in the Zizhi Tongjian, a famous Chinese historical text completed in 1084 AD. This work mentions several individuals with the surname Tu who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).

In ancient China, surnames were often associated with specific regions or villages. The Tu name has been particularly prevalent in the eastern provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, as well as in Guangdong and Fujian in the south.

Over the centuries, various notable figures have borne the Tu surname. One of the most famous was Tu Fu (712-770 AD), widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in Chinese history. His works, which often depicted the turmoil of his time, have had a lasting influence on Chinese literature.

Another prominent individual was Tu Youyou (born 1930), a Chinese pharmaceutical chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for her discoveries related to the treatment of malaria.

In the realm of martial arts, Tu Xiduan (1789-1857) was a renowned practitioner of the Xingyi Quan style, and is credited with helping to preserve and spread this ancient fighting system.

The Tu surname has also been found in various place names throughout China, such as Tu Village in Zhejiang Province and Tu County in Sichuan Province, further reflecting its deep historical roots in the region.

While the surname Tu is most commonly associated with China, it has also been adopted by individuals in other parts of Asia, particularly in areas with significant Chinese populations or cultural influences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tu

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

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 Tu 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 Tu 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 Tu was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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