See the whole storyOrigin of my surname

Originating from the Ying surname, the Xu surname is derived from the name of a state. The distant ancestor of the Xu people can be traced back to Shao Hao (surnamed Ying), of the Jintian clan during the Five Emperors era. Shao Hao's great-grandson was Boyi, who, for his meritorious service in assisting Yu the Great in controlling the floods, was enfeoffed by the Xia king to his son Ruomu in the Xu region (north of present-day Sixian County, Anhui Province). The Xu state existed through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, remaining active in the Jianghuai region, historically known as the "Xu Rong," "Xu Yi," or "Xu Fang." During the Spring and Autumn period, King Yan of Xu rebelled against the Zhou king and was destroyed by King Mu of Zhou in alliance with the Chu state. Later, King Yan's son, Zong, was reinstated as a prince of Xu. During the Warring States period, the Wu state destroyed the Xu state, followed by the Yue state, and then the Chu state, which conquered the Yue state. The territory of the Xu state was then incorporated into the Chu state. The descendants of the Xu state adopted the name of their state as their surname and settled scattered throughout the Jianghuai region.

Originating from the Zi surname, it belongs to the category of surnames derived from tribal names. In the early Zhou Dynasty, after Duke Dan of Zhou quelled the rebellion of Wu Geng, the Marquis of Yin, and the Three Supervisors, he distributed six clans from the remnants of the Shang Dynasty to Duke Lu, one of which was the Xu clan.

Originating from surname changes: 1. Clan adopting Xu: Clans from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, distributed in what is now the Helan Mountain region of Ningxia and the Qingyang region of Gansu, largely assimilated into the Han Chinese surname Xu after the Northern and Southern Dynasties. 2. Mongolian adopting Xu: The Sumir clan, who lived for generations in Keshiketeng and Dahuangshan, later had their surname adopted by Manchus, with many later changing it to Su. The Wusud clan, originating from the Hulagu tribe of Mongolia, later mostly adopted the Han surname Xu. In the early Ming Dynasty, a Mongolian man named Qishiwu surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and was bestowed the Han surname Xu Sheng by Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di), which his descendants then used. 3. Koreans adopting the surname Xu: During the Tang Dynasty, a prince of Baekje named Buyeo Ryong adopted the Han surname "Xu." During the Qing Dynasty, Koreans living near what is now Lake Kazakhstan in Russia also adopted the Han surname Xu, which is one of the origins of the current Korean Xu surname. 4. Manchus adopting the surname Xu: During the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu Eight Banners clans such as Shulu, Xuji, and Shumulu collectively changed their surname to Xu, later becoming the Han Chinese with the surname Xu in Northeast China.