GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 16

郭

郭 is read as guō.

Pinyin

guō

Script forms

Simplified and traditional 郭

Basic meaning

outer city wall; outskirts

Five element

Earth

Origin

Time: Western Zhou, after Zhou royal enfeoffment tradition; Western Zhou tradition, 1046-771 BCE

Place: Guo/虢 state tradition, linked with Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi branches

Origin note

A major Guo tradition links the surname to the Western Zhou Guo/虢 states. Surname materials record that relatives of the Zhou royal house were enfeoffed at Guo/虢; because Guo and 虢 were closely related in sound and written tradition, later descendants used Guo as the surname. Other Guo branches also exist, so this page treats the Zhou Guo/虢 layer as the main verified cultural origin.

Historical figures

郭子仪 (Guo Ziyi)

697-781 CE · Tang general and statesman

A major Tang military and political figure remembered for helping stabilize the dynasty after the An Lushan rebellion.

郭守敬 (Guo Shoujing)

1231-1316 CE · Yuan astronomer, engineer and mathematician

Known for calendar reform, astronomical instruments and hydraulic engineering in the Yuan period.

Sources checked