How common is the surname Wu?

71,721 people in the United States had the surname Wu in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,305 Americans. It ranked 461st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Wu?

Constance Wu, American actress (born 1982), followed by Daniel Wu.

Where is the surname Wu most common?

Wikidata records people named Wu in the United States, Australia and the People's Republic of China and 3 other countries.

Is the surname Wu getting more or less common?

More common. 45,815 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 71,721 in 2010, up 57%.

Is Wu also a first name?

Yes. Wu is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Wu

A Chinese surname, carried by 71,721 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈwuː/ 1 syllable Soundex W000

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Wu is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

Romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 吳 /吴 (Wú). Doublet of O.

One of 193 Chinese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 71,721 people named Wu in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 4,305 Americans. That is up 57% since 2000, when the Census counted 45,815.

#461

rank among US surnames

71,721

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+56.5%

change since 2000 (was #683)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#452	Roman	72,918	4,234
#453	Webster	72,625	4,251
#454	Goodwin	72,451	4,261
#455	Fischer	72,357	4,267
#456	Huang	72,328	4,269
#457	Potter	72,175	4,278
#458	Delacruz	72,109	4,282

Who is named Wu

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

96% of people named Wu identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 1.6% as two or more races and 1.4% as white (not Hispanic).

Asian and Pacific Islander 96%
Two or more races 1.6%
White (not Hispanic) 1.4%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 0.5%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.0%

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Wus

23 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Constance Wu
American actress (born 1982)
Daniel Wu
American actor, born 1974
Felipe Almeida Wu
Brazilian sport shooter, born 1992
Melissa Wu
Australian diver, born 1992
Kristy Wu
American actress, born 1982
Alice Wu
American film director, born 1970
David Wu
American politician (born 1955)
Brianna Wu
American video game developer, born 1977
Sau Lan Wu
American physicist, born 1940
Tim Wu
American legal scholar, born 1972
Wu Han
1st century CE Eastern Han dynasty general, -50–44
Tai Tsun Wu
American nuclear physicist (1933–2024)

Notable Wus come mostly from the United States (13), Australia (2) and the People's Republic of China (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Wu

Waugh

Wu has the Soundex code W000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W000.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Wu come from?: Romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 吳 /吴 (Wú). Doublet of O.
How common is the surname Wu?: 71,721 people in the United States had the surname Wu in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,305 Americans. It ranked 461st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Wu?: In the 2010 Census, 96% of people named Wu identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 1.6% as two or more races.
Who is the most famous person named Wu?: Constance Wu, American actress (born 1982), followed by Daniel Wu.
Where is the surname Wu most common?: Wikidata records people named Wu in the United States, Australia and the People's Republic of China and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Wu?: Wu is /ˈwuː/, one syllable.
Is the surname Wu getting more or less common?: More common. 45,815 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 71,721 in 2010, up 57%.
Is Wu also a first name?: Yes. Wu is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.