Chinese surname · rank 20

罗 is read as luó.

Pinyin

luó

Script forms

Simplified 罗 · Traditional 羅

Basic meaning

net for catching birds; collect; gauze; arrange

Five element

Earth

Origin

Time: Zhou to Spring and Autumn period; Luo-state destruction often dated around 690 BCE

Place: Luo state first associated with Yicheng, today's Hubei Province; later Zhijiang and Changsha traditions

Origin note

A major Luo tradition traces the surname to the ancient Luo state, connected with descendants of Zhurong in many surname texts. CCTV and National Cultural Memory Bank materials place Luo around Yicheng in today's Hubei, with later movement toward Zhijiang and Changsha. After Luo was destroyed by Chu, descendants are said to have used the state name Luo as their surname.

Historical figures

罗贯中 (Luo Guanzhong)

c. 14th century CE · novelist

Traditionally credited as the author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the best-known works of Chinese historical fiction.

罗隐 (Luo Yin)

833-909 CE · late Tang poet

A late Tang writer remembered for sharp, expressive poetry and prose.

Sources checked