Zhou (surname)

Zhōu is the Hanyu Pinyin transliteration of the Chinese family name 周, which 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.

Zhōu
Zhou surname in regular script
PronunciationZhōu (Pinyin)
Chiu (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)
[ʈʂóu] (IPA)
Language(s)Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean
Origin
Language(s)Old Chinese
DerivationZhou Dynasty
Other names
Variant form(s)Zhou, Chou (Mandarin)
Chow, Chau (Hong Kong)
Chao (Macao)
Chew, Chiu (Hokkien, Teochew)
Châu (Vietnamese)
Joo, Ju (Korean)
Tjeuw, Tjioe, Djioe (Indonesian, Dutch)
Shū (Japanese)

In places which use the Wade-Giles romanization such as Taiwan, Zhou is usually spelled as "Chou" (ㄓㄡ), and it may also be spelled "Chiau", "Chau", "Chao", "Chew", "Chow", "Chiu", "Cho", "Chu", "Jhou", "Jou", "Djou", "Jue", or "Jow". Zhōu can also stand for another, rare Chinese family name, 洲.

The Korean equivalent, "Joo" or "Ju", is a popular surname in Korea. The Vietnamese equivalent is "Châu" or "Chu".

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.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, the emperor issued an imperial edict to change the surname Ji to Zhou to avoid the taboo of his personal name.

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
Jay Chou (周杰倫)

Historical
Alphabetized by surname, then by given name.

Fictional
Alphabetized by surname, then by given name.
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See also

References
  1. http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2020/01/20/676822.html
  2. http://en.people.cn/200506/17/eng20050617_190843.html
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