| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Word/name | Shandong, China |
| Meaning | Vermillion; named after the ancient State of Zhu (邾) |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Zou (邹) Cao (also adopted by former subjects of Zou) |
Zhu is the pinyin romanization of five Chinese surnames: 朱, 祝, 竺, 猪 and 諸.
The most prominent of the five, Zhu (朱), is the 17th name in the Hundred Family Surnames poem and was the surname of the Ming dynasty emperors. It is alternatively spelled Chu (primarily in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), Gee[citation needed][clarification needed] in the United States & Canada, and Choo (mostly in Singapore and Malaysia). As of 2018, it is the 14th most common surname in the People's Republic of China, with a population of around 18 million.[1][2][3]