See the whole storyOrigin of my surname

The earliest branch originated from the Qi surname, descended from Liu Lei, a descendant of Emperor Yao. This branch formed during the late Xia Dynasty and originated in present-day Lushan County, Henan Province. Liu Lei, a descendant of Emperor Yao, was born in the late Xia Dynasty. He learned the art of dragon taming from the skilled dragon-raising clan, Huanlongshi. He tamed four dragons for Kong Jia, the thirteenth emperor of the Xia Dynasty, and was thus bestowed the surname "Yulongshi" by Kong Jia. While raising dragons for Kong Jia, Liu Lei lived south of present-day Yanshi County, Henan Province. Later, due to improper care, a female dragon died. Fearing punishment from Kong Jia, Liu Lei secretly fled south with his family to Lu County (present-day Lushan County, Henan Province) to hide. Liu Lei's descendants adopted his name as their surname, which is the earliest known origin of the Liu surname.

Originating from the Ji surname, the surname comes from the descendants of Wang Ji, the great-grandfather of King Cheng of Zhou. It originated from a place name used as a surname. King Cheng of Zhou enfeoffed the descendants of his great-grandfather Wang Ji in Liuyi (present-day Yanshi, Henan), hence the surname Liu was derived from the place name.

Originating from surnames adopted from other ethnic groups: 1. Bestowed surname: Xiang Yu's uncle, Xiang Bo, was granted the surname Liu by Liu Bang because he had saved Liu Bang's life at the Hongmen Banquet. In 202 BC, after Liu Bang became emperor in Luoyang, he accepted the suggestion of Lou Jing, a soldier guarding the border, to move the capital to Chang'an, and thus bestowed the surname Liu upon Lou Jing. 2. The Liu surname among the Xiongnu people in the early Western Han Dynasty. At that time, the Xiongnu tribe was powerful, and Emperor Gaozu of Han (Liu Bang) adopted a policy of heqin (marriage alliance), marrying a princess of the imperial family to the Xiongnu Chanyu Maodun. Maodun's surname was Lan, but according to the Xiongnu nobility's custom of taking their mother's surname, the descendants of Lan all took the surname Liu. 3. During the Wei, Jin, and Sixteen Kingdoms period: A branch of the Xiongnu, seeking support from the Central Plains people, claimed descent from a Han princess and the Xiongnu Chanyu (ruler), consistently using their maternal surname, thus adopting the surname Liu. They successively established three regimes—Han, Former Zhao, and Xia—in what is now Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia, before settling in Henan, historically known as the Henan Liu clan. Liu Yuan, the founder of Former Zhao, was a Xiongnu nobleman. 4. Among the "Eight Families of Meritorious Officials" of the Northern Wei Dynasty (eight surnames formed by the descendants of meritorious officials in the early Northern Wei), there was a Dugu clan. After Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital from Datong, Shanxi to Luoyang in 494, he implemented Sinicization reforms in 496, changing the Xianbei Dugu clan name to Liu. 5. During the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, a branch of the Shatuo tribe among the Turkic peoples also claimed to be descendants of Liu Bang. The Later Han and Northern Han regimes during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period were established by the Shatuo Liu clan.