Explore the Family Name Ku
The meaning of Ku
1. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 庫, meaning ‘warehouse’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by the descendants of those officials in charge of warehouses in the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) mispronounced form of another Chinese surname Ku (苦). (iii) adopted as a surname by the Ku Men (庫門) and Ku Nu Guan (庫傉官) families during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). 2. Chinese: variant of Gu. 3. Chinese: Teochew, Hokkien, and Taiwanese form of the surnames 邱 and 丘, see Qiu 1 and 2. 4. Korean: there are three Chinese characters for the surname Ku. The most common of the three claims 32 clans, but only two can be documented. The other two Ku surnames each have one clan, with its own Chinese character. All four of the Ku clans immigrated from China. The clans that use the more common character came in two waves: the first settled in the Nŭngsŏng sometime before 945, and the second, which settled in Ch’angwŏn, arrived in 1224. The name of the immigrant who founded the first of these two clans has been lost; but the name of the second is Ku Chon-yu. Members of these two clans can be found throughout the Korean peninsula, but 45 percent of them live in Kyŏngsang South province, while 20 percent of them live in Seoul and Kyŏnggi province. The founder of the clan that uses the other Ku character was named Ku T’ae-rim. He was an emissary for Tang China on his way to Japan when a storm blew his ship onto the shores of Koguryŏ Korea in 663. He settled in Koguryŏ territory and subsequently held a post in that government. Koguryŏ was a Korean kingdom which existed in the northern part of the Korean peninsula from 37 BC to 668 AD. Its territory was incorporated into Shilla when the peninsula was unified in 668. Most of the modern-day members of this clan live in Ch’ungch’ŏng province. Very little is known of the origins of the clan which uses the third Ku character. There are only a few families which still use this character in Korea; they live in Kyŏngsang province and Kangwŏn province. Compare Goo 3 and Koo 6. 5. Southeast Asian (Hmong): variant of Kue 1. 6. Amerindian (Mexico): Mayan name, from ku or k’u, meaning ‘god’ and ‘nest’. Compare Cu. Some characteristic forenames: Chinese Sung, Yong, Chen, Kyung, Mei, Chan, Hyon, Kyong, Pei, Pin, Sen, Wei Chun. Korean Jeong, Seong, Yiming, Chang, Chol, Chong, Chong Sik, Choon, Hae, Jin Soon, Pai, Pak.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Ku in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Ku saw a significant increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname improved from 8131 to 6877, marking an upward shift of 15.42%. The count of individuals bearing this surname also swelled by 30.17%, rising from 3755 in 2000 to 4888 in 2010. Concurrently, the proportion of the population with the surname Ku per 100,000 people grew by 19.42%, moving from 1.39 to 1.66.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,131 | #6,877 | 15.42% |
| Count | 3,755 | 4,888 | 30.17% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.39 | 1.66 | 19.42% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ku
In terms of ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals shifts in the ethnic identity of people with the surname Ku between 2000 and 2010. While the majority of those with this surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, the percentage dropped slightly from 88.02% to 85.31%, a change of -3.08%. There were increases among those identifying with two or more races (a rise of 15.69%) and those identifying as White (an increase of 7.74%). The most notable increase was seen among those identifying as Hispanic, which rose by 37.93%. The percentage of individuals identifying as Black decreased to zero in 2010, while the percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native remained at zero for both years.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 88.02% | 85.31% | -3.08% |
| Hispanic | 5.22% | 7.2% | 37.93% |
| White | 3.49% | 3.76% | 7.74% |
| Two or More Races | 3.06% | 3.54% | 15.69% |
| Black | 0.21% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Ku ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Ku is Chinese, which comprises 67.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Korean (12.7%) and British & Irish (3.8%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, French & German, Chinese Dai, Vietnamese, and Japanese.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 67.5% |
| Korean | 12.7% |
| British & Irish | 3.8% |
| Other | 16.0% |
Possible origins of the surname Ku
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Ku have recent ancestry locations in China and Taiwan.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Guangdong, China | 44.00% |
| Fujian, China | 42.20% |
| Jiangsu, China | 41.30% |
| Zhejiang, China | 40.40% |
| Shanghai, China | 38.50% |
What Ku haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Ku is O-F8, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F8 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include O-F11 and O-F81, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Diep, Yen, Choy, Uy, Xue, Tsao, Yao, Kao, Ung, Tong.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Ku surname are: H, D4, M7b. These most commonly trace back to individuals of East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Han Chinese
Haplogroup O-Page23 has been found in several populations of the Han Chinese ethnic group. The ancestors of the Han, called the Huaxia, lived in the upriver basin of the Yellow River 5,000-6,000 years ago. As agricultural technology improved, the Huaxia spread east and south, and became the Han Chinese. Over the last 2,000 years, there have been three major migrations of the Han southward. The first of these migrations occurred during the Jin Dynasty from 317 to 420 CE, when nearly one million people moved south. A second migration occurred during the Tang Dynasty, after the An-Shi Rebellion, between 755 and 762 CE. The last migration occurred during the Southern Song Dynasty, from 1127 to 1297 CE, when nearly 5 million people migrated southward. The Pinghua, a branch of Han in which haplogroup O2a2b1a1 is particularly common, may be descendants of indigenous minority groups that adopted Han culture during one such major migration event.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to the Han
Members of haplogroup D are found in both northern and southern Han Chinese populations at low to moderate frequencies. The Han people, who all share the same language and similar cultural practices, are the largest ethnic group in the world, with about 1.2 billion people. Historical evidence shows that Han people are descendants of the ancient Huaxia tribes that come from northern China, and Han language and culture only expanded into southern China in the last 2,000 years. The spread of Han people and culture from northern to southern China was likely driven by warfare and famine in the north.
What do people with the surname Ku have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Ku" Surname 34.8%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Cheek Dimples
Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.
"Ku" Surname 34.8%
23andMe Users 37.6%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Ku" Surname 21.4%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Ku" Surname 11.6%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Ku?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Ku are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition