Where does the last name DO come from?

Question

Like how did they create the last name DO? (it's vietnameses) like smith was given because they were a blacksmith.

Answer 1

I found this for you.

Do Name Meaning and History

Vietnamese ({D-}ô~): unexplained.

Chinese : possibly a variant of Du 1.

Korean: variant of To.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Here is an interesting article on the history of Vietnamese surnames and lists the 16 most common ones.  DO is not one of them, but interestingly enough the author's surname is DO.  

Since he has an interest in this topic and DO is his surname, he may very well be able to tell you the meaning/history for it. There is a contact email address at the bottom of this article.

"Most Vietnamese have the surname of one of 16 royal families who ruled their homeland. In chronological order, they are: Thuc, Trung, Trieu, Mai, Khuc, Ly, Phung, Kieu, Ngo, Dinh, Le, Tran, Ho, Mac, Trinh and Nguyen..."

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/new...

Source:"A primer on Vietnamese surnames" (article from the 'Orange County Register' by Anh Do" March 23, 2007)

I don't think this is a very uncommon surname.  Over the years, I have had several students with it.

DO is 10th on the surname list in the entry "Vietnamese Name" at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_...

My keyboard won't allow me to see the Chinese characters.  But, if you can see them, this could be your clue as to its meaning.