Chinese surname · rank 207
穆
穆 is read as mù.
mù
Simplified and traditional 穆
majestic, solemn, reverent; calm
Earth
Time: Western Zhou/Spring and Autumn Song-state posthumous-title line, with later Warring States, Northern Wei, Hui, and Manchu layers; Xia-dynasty tradition, c. 2070-1600 BCE
Place: Song state around Shangqiu for the primary line; Lu/Qufu, Zheng/Nanzheng-Xinzheng, and Henan commandery appear in other source layers
Origin note
Mu is a multi-origin surname, but the best-attested core account is a posthumous-title surname. One early line is traced to the Zi-surname rulers of Song: after Wei Ziqi was enfeoffed at Song near present Shangqiu, the line later reached Song Xuan Gong and his younger brother He, remembered as Song Mu Gong; descendants of collateral branches used the posthumous title Mu as a surname. 23mofang also records Ji-surname lines from Lu Mu Gong Ji Xian and Zheng Mu Gong Ji Lan, each likewise using a posthumous title as the surname. Later layers include the Northern Wei Xianbei Qiumuling clan changing to Mu, Muslim families associated with the name Muhammad, and several Manchu lineages adopting Mu, so the page keeps the Song, Lu, Zheng, and later ethnic layers distinct rather than forcing one founder.
Historical figures
Historical figures to enrich
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