郭GuoSurname
Guō
Guo (郭) means 'outer city wall' and symbolizes protection, defense, and community. It represents strength, security, and the idea of safeguarding what is valuable within a fortified boundary.
Guō
Mainland China · Taiwan
Kwok
Guangdong · Hong Kong
Kuek
Fujian · Taiwan · SE Asia
Kok
Meizhou · Taiwan · SE Asia
Population Ranking
#19
Estimated Over 2 million people
Position among top 100 Chinese surnames
Geographic Distribution
Shandong, Sichuan, Hebei
Five Element Analysis
Fire
passion, energy, and leadership
Origin & Evolution
From Chu State royalty to global diaspora — a 3,000-year journey
Zhou Dynasty
周朝·c. 1046 – 256 BC
Origin from the Guo state (虢国), founded by kinsmen of the Zhou royal house. After Jin annihilated both Guo states in 655 BC, surviving descendants adopted Guo as their surname in remembrance.
Han Dynasty
汉朝·206 BC – 220 CE
The surname spread from the Central Plains outward; Guo Ji (郭吉) and other Han-era officials carried the lineage into Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Honan as settled gentry.
Tang & Song
唐宋·618 – 1279
Guo Ziyi, the 'model general', crushed the An Lushan Rebellion and restored the Tang, while the Guo surname grew prominent across north China through military and civil service.
Ming & Qing
明清·1368 – 1912
Guo expanded throughout Henan, Hebei, and Shandong, with branches serving in the Ming bureaucracy and contributing to Qing-era scholarship, commerce, and the early overseas migration to Southeast Asia.
Modern Era
现代·1912 – Today
Guo ranks around #18 in China with over 14 million people, concentrated in Henan, Hebei, and Shandong, with notable branches across Taiwan and the global Chinese diaspora.
Commandery
Fenyang Commandery (汾阳郡) — Modern-day Fenyang, Shanxi Province
Hall Title
汾阳堂 (Fenyang Hall)
The principal hall name 'Fenyang Hall' (汾阳堂) honors Tang general Guo Ziyi, enfeoffed as Prince of Fenyang in Shanxi and the surname's most revered ancestor.
Ancestral Hall

Guo Clan Ancestral Hall in Fenyang, Shanxi — Honoring General Guo Ziyi, the 'Loyal and Martial King.' The hall is a major cultural heritage site.
Clan Motto & Family Tradition
汾阳世泽,忠武家风 — The Fenyang heritage; the loyal and martial family tradition.
Famous People with Surname Guo
Guo Ziyi
郭子仪
697 – 781
Tang GeneralSavior of the Tang dynasty who quelled the An Lushan Rebellion and served eight emperors, revered as the ideal Confucian warrior-statesman.
Guo Shoujing
郭守敬
1231 – 1316
Astronomer & EngineerYuan-dynasty polymath who calculated the length of the solar year to within 26 seconds and designed a vast canal network still influencing China today.
Guo Moruo
郭沫若
1892 – 1978
Poet & HistorianFounding voice of modern Chinese poetry, pioneering Marxist historian, and inaugural president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Tone Compatibility
Guo (Guō) is a 1st tone (high-level) surname. In Chinese naming, balanced tonal patterns create harmonious-sounding names.
Recommended Patterns
bright and grand
vast and auspicious
bright as the sun
Patterns to Avoid
Each digit is a tone (1=level, 2=rising, 3=dipping, 4=falling). The first is the surname tone; the next two are the given name's tones.
Example Names with Guo
Your Guo Family Legend
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