Yu or Yoo, or sometimes Ryu or Ryoo, is the English
transcription of several
Korean surnames written as 유 or 류 in
hangul. As of 2000, roughly a million people are surnamed Yoo in
South Korea, making up approximately 2% of the population. Of those, the most common is Ryu (Hanja: 柳, Hangul: 류),[1] with more than six hundred thousand holders, whereas Yoo (Hanja: 兪, 余 Hangul: 유) accounts for about one hundred thousand.
The family name Yoo can be represented by any of the four
hanja: 柳 (류), 劉, 兪 and 庾, each with a different meaning. In Korean, the characters 劉 and 柳 refer to 유 (Yoo) or 류 (Ryu) and are spelled as such because of the first
initial sound rule (두음 법칙) in Korean, whereas the characters 兪 and 庾 refer only to 유 (Yoo). Some of these characters are used to write the
Chinese surnamesLiu (劉 or 柳) and
Yu (兪,余).
In Korea, the Yoo lineage traces to the
Xia,
Han, and
Joseondynasties. Holders of the surname Yoo had a reputation for charity and diligence.
The largest Ryu (which is a separate clan from Yoo, but pronounced differently), the Munhwa Ryu,[2] was founded by a man named
Ch’a Tal. Ch’a's fifth great-grandfather had been involved in an attempt to overthrow the
Silla king. To avoid prosecution, the ancestor fled to Munhwa and changed his surname, first to that of his maternal grandmother, Yang, and then to Ryoo. Many years later, Ch’a Tal assisted
Wang Kŏn to establish the
Koryŏ Kingdom. Ch’a was recognized for his support and was rewarded accordingly. However, the historic claims that the Ch'a clans are derived from the same progenitor as Ryu Ch'a-dal have been disproven. The Munhwa Ryoo clan, along with the Andong Kwŏn clan, possess one of Korea's oldest clan
genealogies. Only the character 柳 is commonly pronounced Ryu or Ryoo (류). (See
Munhwa Ryoo) The surname "Ryu" comes from the character meaning
willow tree. Hence, the lineage is also sometimes called "willow Ryu" (버들 류씨).
Notable people (historic)
Yu Ch'a-dal (880–?), founder of the Korean Munhwa Yu clan
This page lists people with the
surnameYoo. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.
Yu or Yoo, or sometimes Ryu or Ryoo, is the English
transcription of several
Korean surnames written as 유 or 류 in
hangul. As of 2000, roughly a million people are surnamed Yoo in
South Korea, making up approximately 2% of the population. Of those, the most common is Ryu (Hanja: 柳, Hangul: 류),[1] with more than six hundred thousand holders, whereas Yoo (Hanja: 兪, 余 Hangul: 유) accounts for about one hundred thousand.
The family name Yoo can be represented by any of the four
hanja: 柳 (류), 劉, 兪 and 庾, each with a different meaning. In Korean, the characters 劉 and 柳 refer to 유 (Yoo) or 류 (Ryu) and are spelled as such because of the first
initial sound rule (두음 법칙) in Korean, whereas the characters 兪 and 庾 refer only to 유 (Yoo). Some of these characters are used to write the
Chinese surnamesLiu (劉 or 柳) and
Yu (兪,余).
In Korea, the Yoo lineage traces to the
Xia,
Han, and
Joseondynasties. Holders of the surname Yoo had a reputation for charity and diligence.
The largest Ryu (which is a separate clan from Yoo, but pronounced differently), the Munhwa Ryu,[2] was founded by a man named
Ch’a Tal. Ch’a's fifth great-grandfather had been involved in an attempt to overthrow the
Silla king. To avoid prosecution, the ancestor fled to Munhwa and changed his surname, first to that of his maternal grandmother, Yang, and then to Ryoo. Many years later, Ch’a Tal assisted
Wang Kŏn to establish the
Koryŏ Kingdom. Ch’a was recognized for his support and was rewarded accordingly. However, the historic claims that the Ch'a clans are derived from the same progenitor as Ryu Ch'a-dal have been disproven. The Munhwa Ryoo clan, along with the Andong Kwŏn clan, possess one of Korea's oldest clan
genealogies. Only the character 柳 is commonly pronounced Ryu or Ryoo (류). (See
Munhwa Ryoo) The surname "Ryu" comes from the character meaning
willow tree. Hence, the lineage is also sometimes called "willow Ryu" (버들 류씨).
Notable people (historic)
Yu Ch'a-dal (880–?), founder of the Korean Munhwa Yu clan
This page lists people with the
surnameYoo. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.