Lù

Lù, written with the Chinese character 陆 in Simplified or 陸 in Traditional, is a common Chinese surname. In Mandarin Chinese, it is pronounced with the fourth tone, Lù. The surname is found throughout China and in overseas Chinese communities, with sizable populations in coastal provinces, Taiwan, Singapore, and other diasporic communities.

The character 陆/陸 means "land" or "shore" in modern Chinese. As a surname, its origins are multiple and historical, arising from several different lineages in ancient China, including toponymic sources associated with places named Lu and other early posts. Over time, lineages bearing the surname spread through migration and intermarriage.

Outside Mandarin, the same character is pronounced differently in other Chinese varieties; for example, Cantonese reads it as Luk, yielding related surnames in Cantonese-speaking communities. Accordingly, romanizations vary by language and era, producing forms such as Lu, Luk, or Luk6 in Cantonese-influenced systems.

Today Lù appears in various public records and genealogical materials; as with many Chinese surnames, its spelling in English-language contexts commonly aligns with Lu, though Lù preserves the original Mandarin pronunciation for those who use diacritics.