Names / Yu
Is Yu a first name or a last name?
Yu is both: a family name in some places and a given name in others. It is mostly a family name in China, Taiwan and the United States; mostly a given name in Japan.
How to address someone called Yu
- China. Yu is a family name and is usually written first. Write Dear Mr. Yu or Dear Ms. Yu, or use the full name if you cannot tell which title fits.
- Japan. Yu is part of the given name, which comes after the family name. Use it only on first-name terms; formally, the title goes with the family name.
- Taiwan. Yu is a family name and is usually written first. Write Dear Mr. Yu or Dear Ms. Yu, or use the full name if you cannot tell which title fits.
- United States. Yu is a family name, usually written last. Write Dear Mr. Yu or Dear Ms. Yu.
Not sure which part of a full name is which? Check the full name with the country where the person is based.
Yu by country
People recorded in Wikidata who carry Yu as a family name or as a given name, by country of citizenship (1,014 in total).
| Country | As family name | As given name | Family name share |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 497 | 81 | 86% |
| Japan | 0 | 162 | 0% |
| Taiwan | 145 | 17 | 90% |
| United States | 35 | 0 | 100% |
| Hong Kong | 14 | 2 | 88% |
| Canada | 11 | 3 | 79% |
| Australia | 7 | 3 | 70% |
| Malaysia | 3 | 4 | 43% |
| South Korea | 3 | 3 | 50% |
| Singapore | 4 | 1 | 80% |
Wikidata covers notable people, so counts show how the name is used, not how many people carry it.
Yu in the United States
- As a surname: about 52,035 people in the 2010 census, rank 658 among US surnames.
- As a first name: 750 babies born between 1950 and 2017.
Yu as a given name: men or women?
About 13% of people with Yu as a given name in Wikidata are women. This describes the name, not any one person: it is not a safe basis for Mr. or Ms., and the full name without a title is always polite.
More on this naming tradition: How Chinese names work.
Related names
Li · Chen · Wang · Zhang · Yang · Liu · Huang · Wu · Xu · Zhou