# Yū

Yū or Yu or Yuu (ゆう, ユウ) is a very common Japanese given name used by either sex.

## Written forms

Yū can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:
* 優, "tenderness" or "superiority"
* 夕, "evening"
* 友, "friend"
* 有, "qualified"
* 勇, "courage"
* 祐, "help"
* 裕, "abundant"
* 雄, "masculine"
* 悠, "permanence"
* 由宇, "reason, eaves"
* 侑, "assist"
The name can also be written in hiragana or katakana.

## People
### with the given name Yū

* Yu Aida (裕), a Japanese manga artist and illustrator
* Yū Aoi (優), a Japanese actress
* Yū Asagiri (夕), a Japanese manga artist
* Yū Asakawa (悠, born 1975), a Japanese voice actress
* Yu Darvish (有), an Iranian-Japanese starting pitcher
* Yu Fukumoto (福本 悠, born 2002), Japanese footballer
* Yū Hayami (優), a Japanese pop singer and actress
* Yū Hasebe (優), a Japanese actress, singer and model
* Yū Hayashi (勇), a Japanese voice actor and singer
* Yuu Kashii (由宇), a Japanese actress and model
* Yuu Kikkawa (友), a Japanese pop singer
* Yū Kikumura (憂), a member of the Japanese Red Army
* Yu Kimura (boxer) (木村 悠, born 1983), Japanese boxer
* Yu Kimura (footballer) (木村 裕, born 1994), Japanese footballer
* Yū Kobayashi (ゆう, born 1982), a Japanese voice actress
* Yu Kobayashi (footballer) (小林 悠, born 1987), Japanese footballer
* Yū Koyama (ゆう), a Japanese manga artist
* Yu Minobe (美濃部 ゆう, born 1990), Japanese artistic gymnast
* Yu Miyahara (宮原 優), Japanese sport wrestler
* Yuu Miyake (優), a Japanese composer and sound engineer
* Yū Mizushima (裕), a Japanese voice actor
* Yu Nakajima (悠), a Japanese Rubik's Cube solver
* Yu Nakasato (中里 優, born 1994), Japanese women's footballer
* Yu Narukami (悠), a Japanese detective and fighter
* Yū Sasahara (篠原 侑), Japanese voice actress
* Yū Serizawa (芹澤 優), Japanese voice actress and singer
* Yū Shiina (椎名 優), usually written You Shiina, Japanese illustrator and manga artist
* Yū Shimaka (裕), a Japanese voice actor
* Yū Shimamura (嶋村 侑, born 1985), Japanese voice actress
* Yuu Shirota (優), a Japanese-Spanish actor and singer
* Yuu Shiroyama (優), real name of The Gazette's guitarist Aoi
* Yū Sugimoto (ゆう), a Japanese voice actress
* Yu Suzuki (裕), a Japanese game designer and producer
* Yu Takahashi (高橋 優), a Japanese singer-songwriter
* Yū Terashima (優), a Japanese manga artist
* Yu Todoroki (悠), a Japanese Takarasienne
* Yū Wakui: (和久井 優), a Japanese voice actress
* Yuu Watase (悠宇), a Japanese shōjo manga artist
* Yuu Yabuuchi (優), a Japanese manga artist
* Yu Yagami (裕), a Japanese manga artist
* Yu Yamada (優), a Ryukyuan model, actress, and singer
* Yu Yokoyama (裕), a member of the Japanese idol group Kanjani8

## Fictional characters
### with the given name Yū

* Yuu Asou (麻生 優雨), a character from the Fatal Frame III: The Tormented video game series
* Yu Ishigami (石上 優), a character from the manga series Kaguya-sama: Love is War
* Yu Kajima (カジマ), a character from the Gundam anime series
* Yū Kanda (ユウ), a main character in the manga series D.Gray-man
* Yuu Kashima (遊), a character from the Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun anime series
* Yu Kirasawa, a character from Ultraman Nexus known as the "Illustrator"
* Yū Komori (ユウ), a main character in Spider-Man: The Manga
* Yū Koito (小糸 侑), the main character from the anime Bloom into You
* Yū Kōtari (神足 ユウ), a character from the BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER anime series
* Yuu Matsuura (遊), a central character in the shōjo manga series Marmalade Boy
* Yū Nanba (難波 悠), a supporting character and party member in Yakuza: Like a Dragon
* Yu Narukami (鳴上 悠), the main protagonist from the video game Persona 4
* Yū Naruse (usually called Yuu-chan), a main character in the manga WataMote
* Yū Nishinoya (夕), a character from the Haikyū!! anime series
* Yu Ominae (優), the main character of the manga series Spriggan
* Yuu Otosaka (乙坂 有宇), a character from the anime television series Charlotte
* Yu Takasaki (高咲 侑), a character from the anime series Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club
* Yū Tendo (天童 遊), a character from the anime series Beyblade: Metal Fusion
* Yū, a character from Dōbutsu no Mori (film)