# Xu (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/xu/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 徐 (Xú) or 許 /许.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 25,622 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,381 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 12,050 people |
| Change since 2000 | +110% (12,228 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ʃuː/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Hsu, Hsü, Sheu, Syu |

## Etymology

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 徐 (Xú) or 許 /许.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Xu in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 0.8% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 0.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 98% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.0% |
| Two or more races | 0.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Xu in the People's Republic of China, the United States, Cao Wei, China, Joseon and Taiwan.

## People named Xu

- Timmy Xu Wei Zhou, actor, musician and model from China
- Xu Huaiwen, badminton player
- Xu Shu, 3rd century Chinese state of Cao Wei official
- Xu You, Advisor to warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao (died 204)
- Xu Zechen, author and writer
- Annie Xu, badminton player
- Frank Shu, American astronomer (1943–2023)
- Mugaku Sogen, 13th century Zen Buddhist monk
- Heo Im, 17th century Korean acupuncturist
- Feng-hsiung Hsu, American computer scientist (born 1959)

## Similar surnames

Xue, Xie, Xiao, Xia.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.