Chinese surname · rank 235
苟
苟 is read as gǒu.
gǒu
Simplified and traditional 苟
careless, frivolous; illicit; grammatical particle: if, but, if only; grass name
Wood
Time: Spring and Autumn clan and fief layers; Northern Wei ethnic surname reform; Later Jin and Song taboo-change layers; Song and Ming regional distribution layers; Spring and Autumn tradition, 770-476 BCE
Place: Henei and Gouquanpi near today's Xiuwu, Henan for one early residence account; Chu fief layer with uncertain location; later Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Hubei, Anhui, and northern China clusters
Origin note
苟 is a multi-source surname and should not be reduced to one legend. One important layer is Ji-surname: some sources say the Guoyu wording that lists 苟 among Huangdi-descended surnames probably reflects 荀, and later Jin Xun families used 苟 after clan changes or flight. A second traditional layer is Gui-surname, where Lu Shi records a Gou line among descendants of Shun. A third layer is Mi-surname, from a Chu official's fief called Gou. Later layers are better treated as surname changes: Northern Wei records changed certain northern or Di/Qiang clan names to Gou; after the Later Jin ruler Shi Jingtang, some Jing families split 敬 into 苟 and 文 for taboo avoidance; and some 句 or 勾 families added the grass radical as 苟 to avoid the name of Song Gaozong Zhao Gou. The page presents these as parallel traditions and change layers.
Historical figures
Historical figures to enrich
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