Wu Surname (吴): Origins, Ng, Goh and Woo Name Forms

公開者 Anthony
公開日 11月 9, 2026

Understand the Wu surname 吴 and 吳, its ancient state connection, documented Ng, Goh and Woo spellings, and how to distinguish different surnames written Wu.

Quick Answer: What Is the Wu Surname?

The Wu surname (吴／吳，wú) is pronounced with Mandarin’s second tone. Its familiar historical association is the ancient state of Wu.^[1]

Characters: 吴 is the simplified form; 吳 is traditional.
Recorded spellings: Wu, Ng, Goh and Woo appear in actual personal names.
Family history: A state-name tradition does not establish an individual pedigree.

Check the written character before connecting people who share a Latin-letter surname.

Wu surname characters ancient state tradition and recorded name forms

Wu can look very different on a Chinese document and an overseas record. The Chinese character connects those records more reliably than the Latin spelling alone.

吴 and 吳: Characters and Reading

The Ministry of Education distinguishes the surname from other senses of 吳: an ancient state, later political entities, and a geographical designation associated with Suzhou and Jiangsu. These meanings provide context, not interchangeable explanations for every family.^[1]

吴 also appears in older variant-character evidence, including a Tang-period epitaph cited by the ministry’s variant dictionary. Its appearance on a document therefore does not by itself date that document to the modern simplified-script era.^[2]

2019 mainland rank: 9th.^[9]

The Ancient Wu State and Family Traditions

The historical surname account in Tongzhi (通志，tōngzhì) connects Wu with Taibo (太伯，tàibó) and Zhongyong (仲雍，zhòngyōng). It describes the brothers’ departure from Zhou, the succession through Zhongyong, and the recognition of Zhou Zhang (周章，zhōu zhāng) as ruler of Wu.^[3]

The account links later surname transmission with the state’s destruction by Yue, while separately mentioning descendants of Jizha (季札，jìzhá) in the Qi–Lu region. Read this as a recorded lineage tradition; linking a modern household to one branch requires its own documents.^[3]

Wu, Ng, Goh and Woo in Actual Names

These institutional records demonstrate four spellings. They are examples, not instructions to change anyone’s name.

Recorded form	Documented person
Wu	Jingshen Wu (吴景深／吳景深，wú jǐngshēn), in HKUST’s research portal.^[4]
Ng	Charles W. W. Ng (吴宏伟／吳宏偉，wú hóngwěi), on his HKUST biography.^[5]
Goh	Goh Keng Swee (吴庆瑞／吳慶瑞，wú qìngruì), in the Peranakan Museum’s gallery guide.^[6]
Woo	John Woo (吴宇森／吳宇森，wú yǔsēn), in the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts’ honorary record.^[7]

Different Surnames Can Be Written Wu

Wu surname written 伍 (伍，wǔ) and Wu surname written 武 (武，wǔ) are separate names, both read with Mandarin’s third tone. Neither is a traditional-script equivalent of 吴.^[8]

A spelling alone can conceal the distinction. The same caution applies when comparing Woo with records discussed in the Hu surname guide.

How to Compare Wu Family Records

Copy the surname character exactly, retaining the document’s full personal name.
Record each Latin spelling as written, alongside its date and issuing institution.
Compare relatives, generations and places before treating differently spelled names as one family.

FAQs About the Wu Surname

Are 吴 and 吳 Different Surnames?

They are related written forms of the surname. Older records can also contain 吴; the distinction is not a reliable dating tool by itself.^[2]

Does Wu Mean a Family Ruled the Wu Kingdom?

No individual royal connection follows from the surname alone. The ancient-state account supplies a tradition to investigate, not a completed family tree.^[3]

Can Ng, Goh and Woo Represent 吴?

Yes: the personal records above demonstrate all three. Use the Chinese name to check a particular person, and preserve their recorded spelling.^[5][6][7]