Bai Jia Xing compound surname #18
单于
单于 is read as Chányú. It is one of the 60 compound surnames in the expanded Bai Jia Xing sequence.
Pinyin
Chányú
Script forms
Simplified 单于 · Traditional 單於
Meaning
Xiongnu ruler-title surname, read Chanyu
Five element
Fire
Origin
Time: Han-recorded Xiongnu title, 202 BCE-220 CE
Place: Xiongnu steppe polity
Origin
单于 is grounded first in the Xiongnu title Chanyu, not in the modern meanings of 单 and 于. Han sources explain the title as a grand designation, and later surname lore treats descendants or people connected with the title as adopting it as a compound surname.
Name meaning
The name evokes steppe rulership and frontier power. It must be read Chányú in this historical-surname context.
Historical figures
冒顿单于 Modu Chanyu
Modu Chanyu was a foundational Xiongnu ruler, illustrating the title behind the surname.