Zhou (surname)
Zhōu (Chinese: 周; pinyin: Zhōu; Wade–Giles: Chou¹) is a Chinese-language surname. In places which use the Wade–Giles romanization such as Taiwan, Zhou is usually spelled as "Chou" (ㄓㄡ), and it may also be spelled as "Chiau", "Chau", "Chao", "Chew", "Chow", "Chiu", "Cho", "Chu", "Jhou", "Jou", "Djou", "Jue", "Jow", or "Joe". Zhou ranks as the 10th most common surname in Mainland China as of 2019.[1] In 2013 it was found to be the 10th most common name, shared by 25,200,000 people or 1.900% of the population, with the province with the most being Hunan. Derived from the Zhou dynasty, it has been one of the ten most common surnames in China since the Yuan dynasty. It is the 5th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem. The Korean surname, "Joo" or "Ju", and The Vietnamese surname, "Châu" or "Chu", are both derived from and written with the same Chinese character (周). The character also means "around". Zhōu also stands for other, rare Chinese family names, 舟, 州，and 洲.
 Zhou surname in regular script | |
| Pronunciation | [ʈʂóʊ] (Mandarin) [tsɐu˥] (Cantonese) [tɕiu˦] (Hokkien) [tsɛ̂] (Wu) [ɕɯː] (Japanese) |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old Chinese |
| Derivation | Zhou dynasty |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Zhou (Mandarin China), Chou (Mandarin Taiwan) Chow, Chau (Hong Kong) Chao (Macao) Chew, Chiu (Hokkien, Teochew) Châu (Vietnamese) Joo, Ju (Korean) Tjeuw, Tjioe, Djioe (Indonesian, Dutch) Shū (Japanese) |
History
According to historical records, Zhou surname originates from the imperial kinsmen of the Zhou dynasty.[2] The original surname (xing) of the royal Zhou family was Ji (姬). In 256 B.C., the Qin dynasty conquered Zhou and put Rufen under the jurisdiction of Runan County. Ji Yong, a descendant of King Ping of Zhou, which lived on the system of enfeoffment in Rufen, changed his surname to Zhou to commemorate the merits and virtues of his ancestors. The descendants of Emperor Nan of the Zhou Dynasty, who were called the Zhou family after the Zhou Dynasty had been destroyed, also took on the Zhou surname. Since then the Zhou surname has become a common family name in Runan.
Non-Han people who adopted the name Zhou include the Helu and Pu surnames of the Xianbei nationality in (the Northern Zhou) and the Xitong and Shuhu surnames of the Mongolian nationality in the Yuan dynasty.
People with the Zhou surname could be found all over the country due to enfeoffment and migration through the ages, especially from out Runan. In general the migration of the Zhou family followed the pattern of "west to east" and "south to north".
Prominent individuals with the surname Zhou
Modern day
- Bibi Zhou (born 1985), Chinese singer and actress
- Charles Djou, Hawaii politician
- Chou Tzu-yu (born 1999), Taiwanese singer, dancer, visual, and member of the South-Korean girl group Twice
- Chou Wen-chung (1923–2019), composer, professor at Columbia University and founder of the Center for U.S.-China Arts Exchange
- Chow Yun-fat, famous Hong Kong actor
- Eric Chou, Taiwanese singer-songwriter
- Alex Chow, Former Secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students
- Francis Jue, actor
- Hong Chau (born 1979), Vietnamese American actor
- Jay Chou (Chou Chie Lun), Taiwanese musician, singer, songwriter and director
- Jimmy Choo, Yeang Keat, world-famous Malaysian born London shoe designer
- Kathy Chow, actress
- Kelsey Chow, actor from Disney's Pair of Kings
- Malese Jow, Chinese-American teen actress
- Michael Chow Man-Kin, actor
- Nancy Zhou, American violinist
- Agnes Chow, Hong Kong student activist and politician
- Natalie Chou (born 1997), American basketball player
- Niki Chow, actress
- Norm Chow, American football coach
- Osric Chau, Canadian actor
- Pakho Chau, Hong Kong singer-actor
- Silas Chou, Hong Kong billionaire
- Stephen Chow, famous Hong Kong actor and director
- Steve Chou (Zhōu Chuánxióng), Taiwanese composer and singer.
- Veronica Chou (born 1984/1985), Hong Kong businesswoman
- Vic Zhou, actor, singer
- Vivian Chow, singer
- Wakin Chau (Emil Chau), musician, singer
- Wei-Liang Chow, mathematician
- Wen Tsing Chow, missile guidance scientist
- William Kwai Sun Chow, Martial artist
- Xiangyu Zhou (born 1965), Chinese mathematician
- Chau Chin-fu (born 1952), Taiwanese judoka
- Chau Hoi Wah (born 1986), female Hong Kong badminton player
- Zhou Enlai (1898–1976), first Premier of the People's Republic of China
- Zhou Fengsuo, human rights activist
- Zhou Guangzhao, former president of Chinese Academy of Sciences, theoretical physicist
- Zhou Guanyu, (born 1999), Formula 1 driver
- Zhou Haiyan (born 1990), Chinese female middle-distance runner
- Zhou Jianren, politician, younger brother of Lu Xun
- Zhou Jieqiong (born 1998), vocalist of the South-Korean girl group Pristin
- Zhou Long, composer
- Zhou Mi, Chinese female badminton player
- Zhou Mi, Chinese pop male singer from the boy band Super Junior-M
- Zhou Peiyuan, former president of Peking University, theoretical physicist
- Zhou Qi, Chinese basketball player
- Zhou Shen, singer
- Zhou Shuren, writer using the pseudonym Lu Xun
- Zhou Xiaochuan, economist
- Zhou Xiaoping, writer, social commentator.
- Zhou Xiaoyan (1917–2016), soprano and voice teacher
- Zhou Xuan (1918–1957), actress
- Zhou Xun, actress
- Zhou Yanfei (born 1990), Paralympic swimmer sister of Zhou Ying (born 1989), also a paralympic swimmer.[3]
- Zhou Yahui, businessman, entrepreneur
- Zhou Yi (disambiguation)
- Zhou Yongkang (born 1942), member of the 17th CPC Politburo Standing Committee
- Zhou Youguang (1906–2017), Chinese linguist and sinologist
- Zhou Zuoren, writer, brother of Lu Xun
- Zhou Zhennan, rapper, singer, songwriter and dancer
- Chou Tien-chen, Taiwanese badminton player
Historical
- Alphabetized by surname, then by given name.
- Zhou Fang, military general of the state of Eastern Wu
- Zhou Tai, (d. 223) military general of the state of Eastern Wu
- Zhou Tong (archer), famous archer and teacher of Song Dynasty General Yue Fei
- Zhou Yafu, Han dynasty general
- Zhou Yu, (175–210) general of Eastern Wu
Fictional
- Alphabetized by surname, then by given name.
- Knives Chau (Zhou Knives), fictional character from the Scott Pilgrim franchise
- Mr. Chau, fictional character from the Scott Pilgrim franchise
- Zhou Tong (Water Margin), fictional character from the Chinese classic the Water Margin
- Zhou Botong, a fictional character from the Legend of the Condor Hero and Return of the Condor Heroes novels
- Zhou Cang, fictional character from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- Zhou Mei-Ling, fictional character from the Blizzard Entertainment video game Overwatch
See also
- Zhou clan of Runan
References
- "新京报 - 好新闻，无止境".
- "People's Daily Online -- Chinese Zhou surname history".
- "ZHOU Yanfei - Profile". Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
Her younger sister Zhou Ying has represented the People's Republic of China in Para swimming, and won bronze in the S5 200m freestyle at the 2010 World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands.