According to historical records, the surname Fu originated from a famous figure of Emperor Wuding. According to legend, Emperor Wu Ding of Yin Gaozong hoped to find a competent minister to assist him in order to revitalize the country. One night, Wu Ding met a saint named Yue in his dream and thought he was the ideal person. After waking up, he searched all the officials and bureaucrats, so he searched the people again and finally found Yue among the slaves who built the earth wall (now Pingludong, Shaanxi). After talking with him, Wu Ding thought he was really a saint, so he was appointed Prime Minister and he ruled the world. Therefore, Wu Ding is also known as the "Pearl of Zhongxing". Because he is a man, let him take Fu as his surname and call him Fu. There is also a record in the compilation of Yuanhe surnames in the Tang Dynasty: "Fu and Hou said that they were built because they thought they were surnames." Words and deeds of famous people, Guang Yun, Explanation of surnames and Zheng Qiao's Brief History of Ethnic Groups all advocate this theory. Therefore, this is the ancestor of Fu.

According to another source of Fu's surname recorded in the Book of the Tang Dynasty: "From Ji's surname, the descendants of the Yellow Emperor were sealed to Fu Yi because they thought it was his surname." This statement means that the surname Fu is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor.

Another Fu surname in history began after Manchu entered the Central Plains. At that time, some Manchu aristocrats changed their Han surname to Fu, such as Fu Lata, governor of Liangjiang in Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty, Fu Heng, a university student in Baohe Hall, governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi in Myanmar, who pacified Jinchuan and Zhungeer in Qianlong period, all added foreigners to Fu's surname.

Fu surname was formed in Yin, the capital of Shang Dynasty, and developed and multiplied mainly in the north in the early days. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, because the people of the Central Plains fled to the south, Fu's family in the north also spread to all parts of the south of the Yangtze River, and later expanded to Sichuan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian today, and flourished thereafter. By the Ming Dynasty, Fu had spread all over the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River. In the Qing Dynasty, Fu moved to Fujian and Taiwan Province Province in Guangdong, and then moved overseas.

Fu's surname is outstanding in the history of China, such as Fu Kuan, the founder of the Western Han Dynasty, Fu Jiezi, the supervisor of Pingle, and Yi Fu, the writer of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Fu Wei, a philosopher in the Three Kingdoms Wei period; Fu Xuan, a philosopher and writer in the Western Jin Dynasty, Fu Xian, son of Fu Xuan; Fu Yi, a scholar in the Tang Dynasty, was the prime minister of Wu Zetian, Fu Youyi; Fu Lin, Doctor of Laws in Song Dynasty; In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, there was a general, Fu Youde, the Lord protector; During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there was Fu Shan, a thinker, a doctor and a calligrapher. In the Qing Dynasty, there were Bo Jiyi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Fu Yijian, the minister of the Ministry of War. In modern times, there was Fu Lianzhang, Vice Minister of Health; Fu, General of the Kuomintang Uprising and Minister of Water Resources and Electric Power; Fu Baoshi, a painter and art educator, has made extraordinary achievements in history.

Among the most populous surnames in China, Fu ranks 36th.