bǔ 卜

Origin of the surname "Bu": 1. According to "Fengsu Tongyi" (General Principles of Customs) and "Qianfu Lun" (Discourses of a Hermit), those who derived their surnames from occupations included witches, diviners, potters, and craftsmen. During the Yin and Zhou dynasties, those who specialized in divination were called "bu ren" (diviners). Those whose families had served as diviners for generations eventually adopted "Bu" as their surname. "Qianfu Lun" states that there were people with the surname "Bu" after the Xia Dynasty, and also after the family of Uncle Xiu. "Yuanhe Xingzuan" (A Compilation of Surnames from the Yuanhe Era) says that in the Rites of Zhou, there was a clan of "Bu Ren". They took their surname from their official position. Bu Yan of the Jin State, Bu Tufu of the Qin State, and Bu Chuqiu of the Lu State were all divination officials, and their descendants later adopted "Bu" as their surname. 2. According to "Records of the Grand Historian", one of the four major surnames of the ancient Xiongnu tribe was "Xu Bu". Later, they changed their surname to "Bu".