Around the globe, Chu (Chu 
, 朱 , 术 , among others...) is a common unisex forename. The first name Chu is characteristic of Eastern Asia, particularly Macao, where it is quite a common gender-neutral name, Hong Kong, and Mongolia, where it is quite a common girly name. In absolute terms, it is commonest in China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Predominantly, Chu is the last name as well as the forename.
| VARIANT | COUNTRY |
|---|---|
| Chu | Myanmar, Malaysia, Hong Kong, United States, China |
| 朱, 术, 朮 | China |
| จู, ชู | Thailand |
| Ху, Чу | Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Ukraine |
| チュー | Japan |
| تشو | Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Morocco |
| 추 | South Korea |
| צ'ו | Israel |
Chu is also a name for the fictitious and mythical characters: Chu Hsi , the fictional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character; Chu Liuxiang , the character in wuxia fiction, 楚留香新傳 and Chu , the musical character in the musical San Toy; a Widow.
| king qingxiang of chu King of Chinese state of Chu from 298 to 263 BC (b. 329) |
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| king huai of chu King of Chu (b. 350) |
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| king xuan of chu King of Chinese state of Chu from 369 to 340 BC (b. 370) |
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| chu yuan Chinese official (b. 435) |
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| king mu of chu king of the state of Chu in ancient China (b. 650) |
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king wu of chu King of Chu (b. 750) |
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| nguyễn phúc chu Vietnamese ruler, VN (b. 1675) |
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| chu mạnh trinh Vietnamese poet (b. 1862) |
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| chou sing chu Founder of Popular Book Company (later known as Popular Group) in 1936 to retail Chinese books (b. 1905) |
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almond chu Chinese photographer, CN (b. 1962) |
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grandy chu fashion designer |
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| chao yi chu botanist (b. 1934) |
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| li-ming kuo chu professor of nursing, CN (b. 1937) |
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| lau chiang chu, vivien bowler (b. 1942) |
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| morgan chu American patent lawyer, US (b. 1950) |
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