Fun Facts About the Name Yu
- 830 babies named Yu: U.S. records list 830 babies given the name Yu from 1880 through 2025. Even 381 girls received the name Yu.
What Does the Name Yu Mean?
The name Yu is a romanization used in several unrelated naming systems, so it has no single meaning or language of origin. In Mandarin Chinese, Yu can stand for different characters and tones: 玉 (yù) means "jade," 宇 (yǔ) "universe" or "space," 雨 (yǔ) "rain," 瑜 (yú) "fine jade," 羽 (yǔ) "feather," and 昱 or 煜 (yù) "sunlight" or "bright." As a Chinese surname, Yu may be 余 (Yú, "surplus"), 于 (Yú), 俞 (Yú), 虞 (Yú), 禹 (Yǔ), or 郁 (Yù), each with its own origin. In Japanese, Yu or Yū is a given-name element written with kanji such as 優 (yū, "tenderness, excellence"), 悠 (yū, "distant, leisurely"), 友 (yu, "friend"), 由 (yu, "reason"), 結 (yu, "bind"), and 裕 (yū, "abundance"). In Korean, Yu (유) appears in surnames such as 兪 and in given-name syllables like 裕 ("abundance"), 有 ("to have"), 柔 ("soft"), and 瑜 ("jade"). Because the romanization leaves out Chinese characters and tones, Japanese kana distinctions, and Korean hanja, the meaning cannot be determined from "Yu" alone.
Yu Name History & Origins
The spelling Yu is not the historical form of a single name but a modern romanization applied to several languages. In Chinese, the pinyin system introduced in the 1950s writes the Mandarin syllable /y/ as yu; older Wade-Giles romanization often wrote it as Yü. The Chinese surnames behind this spelling have separate traditional lineages. 余 is commonly traced to 由余, an advisor to Duke Mu of Qin in the 7th century BCE; 于 is traditionally linked to the ancient state of 邘; 禹 is associated with the legendary emperor Yu the Great. These are traditional genealogies, and their details are not fully documented. As a given-name element, Yu is chosen for the meaning of its character, so two people named Yu may have unrelated names.
Japanese Yū developed from kanji readings used in personal names. The long vowel is often written Yū or Yuu in romanization, while Yu can also represent a short syllable. In Korean, Yu is a romanization of the surname 兪 and of given-name syllables such as 裕; the same sound can correspond to different hanja, and South Korean surnames in this sound group have sometimes been romanized as Yoo as well.
How Popular is the Name Yu?
Yu has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2007. Its best rank was #3,439 in 1986.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #15,171 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #11,590 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #16,161 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #19,135 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #13,107 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #11,219 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #16,698 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #12,245 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2009 | #13,667 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #6,079 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2006 | #8,705 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2005 | #6,524 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2004 | #8,246 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2003 | #7,990 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #6,690 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #8,740 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2000 | #9,154 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #8,211 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #11,120 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #10,820 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1996 | #8,805 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #7,504 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #7,600 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #8,715 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #8,060 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1991 | #8,581 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #5,834 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1989 | #6,953 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #11,786 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #10,897 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #7,552 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #8,147 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1983 | #10,268 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #7,465 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1981 | #10,401 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1980 | #9,090 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #8,431 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #9,656 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,892 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #14,169 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #12,195 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #7,746 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #8,134 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #7,480 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #8,192 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #7,598 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #10,739 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #7,588 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #8,722 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #9,607 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #8,094 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #8,844 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #12,243 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #10,735 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #12,452 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #11,008 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #7,071 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #6,451 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #8,279 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #6,509 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #5,549 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2002 | #4,700 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #10,534 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #5,577 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1999 | #6,522 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #6,831 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #7,270 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #7,127 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #6,399 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #4,797 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #4,443 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1992 | #6,122 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #5,508 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #4,402 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1989 | #5,158 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #4,779 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1987 | #6,941 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #3,439 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1985 | #3,802 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #3,697 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1983 | #5,477 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #7,271 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #5,763 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #6,490 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #5,868 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #5,036 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Yu Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Yu's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yu's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.