Dugu Qiubai was a fictional character mentioned in three of Jin Yong's novels. He was given the nickname "Sword Devil" to reflect his skill and devotion in swordsmanship. Dugu Qiubai's surname, 獨孤, is a last name from a tribe in northern China. As individual words, the word 獨 means single, and 孤 means alone. His name, 求敗, means "seeking defeat". It is generally assumed that he gave this name to himself in his later years, when he could find no one to best him.