# Yu (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/yu/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | Japanese |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈju/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 830 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 449 / 381 (46% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 643, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Transliteration: * (Mandarin): From Wade–Giles romanization of Mandarin (for: ㄩˊ, ㄩˇ, ㄩˋ, ㄧㄡˊ) (余, 于, 由 (yóu), 魚 /鱼 (yú) / 鱼 (yú), 漁 /渔 (yú), 渔 (yú), 楀 (yǔ), 俞, 喻, 兪, 於 /于, 遇 (yù), 虞 (yú), 郁 (yù), 尉, 禹 (yǔ), 游 (yóu), 尤 (yóu), 庾 (yǔ), 娛 /娱, 娱, 茹) * (Korean): From Korean 유 (yu) or 류 (ryu) (柳, 劉, 兪, 庾) * (Japanese): From Japanese ゆう or ユウ (優, 夕, 友, 有, 勇, 祐, 裕, 雄, 悠, 由宇, 侑)

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 17 | 6,690 |
| 2003 | 14 | 7,990 |
| 2004 | 14 | 8,246 |
| 2005 | 19 | 6,525 |
| 2006 | 14 | 8,706 |
| 2007 | 23 | 6,079 |
| 2009 | 8 | 13,670 |
| 2010 | 9 | 12,247 |
| 2011 | 6 | 16,699 |
| 2012 | 10 | 11,222 |
| 2013 | 8 | 13,108 |
| 2014 | 5 | 19,137 |
| 2016 | 6 | 16,166 |
| 2017 | 9 | 11,594 |
| 2024 | 6 | 15,220 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6 | 12,246 |
| 2012 | 9 | 8,846 |
| 2013 | 10 | 8,094 |
| 2014 | 8 | 9,610 |
| 2015 | 9 | 8,723 |
| 2016 | 11 | 7,591 |
| 2017 | 7 | 10,740 |
| 2018 | 11 | 7,602 |
| 2019 | 10 | 8,197 |
| 2020 | 11 | 7,483 |
| 2021 | 10 | 8,139 |
| 2022 | 11 | 7,750 |
| 2023 | 6 | 12,205 |
| 2024 | 5 | 14,217 |
| 2025 | 9 | 8,892 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 23 | 1,247 |
| 2009 | 27 | 1,139 |
| 2010 | 23 | 1,332 |
| 2011 | 24 | 1,295 |
| 2012 | 32 | 1,075 |
| 2013 | 25 | 1,324 |
| 2014 | 24 | 1,341 |
| 2015 | 10 | 2,496 |
| 2016 | 17 | 1,749 |
| 2017 | 4 | 4,763 |
| 2018 | 8 | 2,901 |
| 2020 | 6 | 3,447 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3,533 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,891 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,927 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | 1,087 |
| 2012 | 19 | 1,313 |
| 2013 | 21 | 1,183 |
| 2014 | 15 | 1,560 |
| 2015 | 16 | 1,511 |
| 2016 | 10 | 2,175 |
| 2017 | 17 | 1,470 |
| 2018 | 4 | 3,959 |
| 2019 | 11 | 1,986 |
| 2020 | 3 | 4,608 |
| 2021 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2022 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2023 | 6 | 3,112 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,119 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## People named Yu

- Han Yu, Chinese historian, poet, philosopher and politician (768–824)
- Guan Yu, Chinese general serving warlord Liu Bei (160-220)
- Xiang Yu, Chinese military leader
- Li Yu, Chinese writer（1611–1680）
- Ruan Lingyu, Chinese silent film actress
- Zhou Yu, Chinese military general and strategist (175-210)
- Jimmy Wang Yu, Chinese-Taiwanese actor and filmmaker (1943-2022)
- Yu Deng, Chinese mathematician
- Gao Yu, Chinese dissident journalist (born 1944)
- Yang Yu, Chinese swimmer
- Xie Yu, Chinese sports shooter (born 2000)
- Yu Mengyu, Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.