Mo () is the pinyin romanization of the surname pronounced in Standard Chinese as "Mò" and in Cantonese as "Mok6". The surname is often romanized as Mok where Cantonese speakers are prominent. According to a study of Mu Ying's Name record, the surname came to be when descendants of the antediluvian ruler Zhuanxu abbreviated the name of his city, Moyangcheng (莫陽城) and took it as their surname.

Mo (莫)
Pronunciation(Mandarin)
Mok6 (Cantonese)
Origin
Meaningdo not
Region of originChina

As Chinese family names go, Mo is relatively rare, ranked 168th in the Hundred Family Surnames. In 2004, there were an estimated 73,000 people with the surname of Mo abroad and 1,540,000 Mos in China.

When not used as a surname, 'Mo' (莫) means 'do not'.

Notable people

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Arts and culture

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Business

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  • Charles Mok (莫乃光), Hong Kong internet entrepreneur

Production

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Politics

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  • Mo Xuanqing (莫宣卿), the youngest "number one scholar" (in the imperial examination) in Chinese history

Sports

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  • Mo Huilan (莫慧兰), Chinese gymnast, silver medalist at the 1996 Olympic Games

See also

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