薛 was an ancient vassal state during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC), located in modern-day Shandong province. The state's name became a surname for its descendants.
Top three-stroke grass radical - the indexing radical for 薛, originally tied to the name of a marsh plant that grew in the ancient state of Xue. As with many surnames adopted from place names, the botanical sense faded but the radical was preserved.
phonetic
辥xuē
place name (historical form)
Bottom 13 strokes form the older graph 辥 - a pre-grass-radical writing of this same word. It carries the sound xuē directly and the historical association with the small Zhou-dynasty vassal state of Xue (modern Shandong). When 薛 became a surname, the 艹 top was added on top of 辥 to mark the region's grass.
