Wu (Chinese: 伍; pinyin: Wǔ; Jyutping: Ng5) is a Chinese surname. It is the 89th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.^[1] It means ‘five’ in Chinese, an alternative form of the character 五.^[2] A 2013 study found that it was the 116th most common name, shared by 1,710,000 people or 0.130% of the population, with the province with the most being Guangdong.^[3]

Origins

• from the personal name of Wu Xu (伍胥), an official during the reign of the legendary Yellow Emperor^[2]
• from the personal name of Wu Shen (伍參), an official in Chu during the Spring and Autumn period^[2]

Notable people

• Wu Jin-lin (伍錦霖), President of Examination Yuan
• Wu Yee-sun (伍宜孫, 1900 – 2005) a Hong Kong entrepreneur and founder of the Wing Lung Bank
• Wu Shih-wen (伍世文), Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China (2000–2002)
• Christine Ng Wing-mei (Chinese: 伍詠薇; born 1969) Hong Kong singer-actress
• 伍連德 – Wu Lien-teh, (1879-1960) Malaysia-born Chinese physician, pioneer epidemiologist
• Wu, Melissa, Australian diver
• 伍潔芳 (伍洁芳) – WuDunn, Sheryl, American writer
• Johnny Eng (born ca. 1958) (Chinese: 伍少衡; Jyutping: ng5 siu3 hang4), also known as Onionhead (Chinese: 蔥頭; Jyutping: cung1 tau4) or Machinegun Johnny,[1] a Hong Kong-born American criminal and leader of Flying Dragons (gang)
• 伍家球 – Wu, William F., science fiction author
• 伍子胥 – Wu Zixu, general in the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history
• 伍佰 – Wu Bai, stage name of Taiwanese singer Wu Chun-lin (吳俊霖)
• Celeste Ng (Chinese: 伍綺詩) (born 1980) American novelist
• Alice Wu (伍思薇; born 1970) American film director and screenwriter
• Mike Eng (伍國慶; born 1946) American politician and member of the Democratic Party
• Philip Ng Wan-lung (Chinese: 伍允龍) Hong Kong-born American actor, martial artist and action choreographer
• Chelsia Ng (伍家丽) Malaysian actress
• Jiahui Wu (伍家辉; born 1981) Malaysian singer-songwriter
• Sky Wu (伍思凱; born 1966) Taiwanese singer-songwriter