Home>Name Popularity>Last Names>X>Xp-Xy>Xu>Massachusetts

Xu

in Massachusetts

There are 533 people with the last name "Xu" in Massachusetts.

Add to web page

Ranking in Massachusetts

NameRank
Xu 1,434
close
  1. is 1,430th most common Staples
  2. is 1,431st most common Ali
  3. is 1,432nd most common Gregoire
  4. is 1,433rd most common Kinney
  5. is 1,434th most common Xu
  6. is 1,435th most common York
  7. is 1,436th most common Chartier
  8. is 1,437th most common Hutchins
  9. is 1,438th most common Everett

Similar Names and Nicknames

Xue, Xi, Xo, Xe, Xa, Xx, Xz, Xc, Xy, Xui

Most Common First Names for Xu

Jian, Wei, Hong, Jie, Ying, Ping, Xiao, Yan, Dong

Meaning & History

Add to web page
Xu

Chinese 徐: from the name of the ancient state of Xu. The model emperor Yu (2205–2198 BC) granted this state to one of his retainers. The retainer's family governed the state from this time on until the Western Zhou dynasty (1122–771 BC), when the Xu prince of the time believed it to be God's will that he should oppose the Zhou dynasty, on account of a prophecy associated with a red bow and arrow that he pulled out of a river. The Zhou king, Mu Wang, was far away to the west in the Kunlun mountains, but raced back to confront and defeat the Xu prince (see Chao 1). Mu Wang then granted the state of Xu to the defeated prince's son, giving him the ‘style name’ of Xu. Descendants of this new ruler eventually adopted Xu as their surname.

Chinese 许: this name goes back as far as the 23rd century BC. According to tradition, there existed a philosopher named Xu You, who was offered succession to the throne by the model emperor Yao. Having heard this proposal, Xu You washed his ears in a river to rid them of such defilement. The main stock of this name probably came later, however, when Wu Wang, the first king (1122–1116 BC) of the Zhou dynasty, granted the area of Xu in present-day Henan province to Wen Shu, a descendant of Bo Yi, adviser to the model emperor Shun (who coincidentally accepted the offer of power which Xu You had declined). The descendants of Wen Shu eventually adopted the name of the area of Xu as their surname.

Recent Searches for "Xu" in Massachusetts

Since June 2009
170

Most Popular Search

Jian Xu, MA (9 searches)
Source: Current searches and listings for US adults on WhitePages. (nv2)

© 2009 WhitePages Inc. - Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Microsoft MapPoint Terms of Use and Privacy Statement