Zhou (surname)
 Zhou surname in regular script | |
| Pronunciation | Zhōu (Pinyin) Chiu (Pe̍h-ōe-jī) |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old Chinese |
| Derivation | Zhou Dynasty |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Zhou, Chou (Mandarin) Chow, Chau (Hong Kong) Chao (Macao) Chew, Chiu (Hokkien, Teochew) Châu (Vietnamese) |
Zhōu[nb 1] is the Hanyu Pinyin transliteration of the Chinese family name 周, which now ranks as the 10th most common surname in Mainland China, and 71st in South Korea. It has been one of the ten most common surnames in China since the Yuan Dynasty.
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", "Chou", "Cho", "Chu", "Jhou", "Joe", "Jou", "Jue", or "Jow". Zhōu can also stand for another, rare Chinese family name, 洲.
The Korean equivalent is "Joo" or "Ju". In addition, the Vietnamese equivalent is "Châu" or "Chu".
Prominent individuals with the surname Zhou
Modern day
- Alphabetized by surname, then by given name.
- Zhou Enlai, first Premier of the People's Republic of China
- Zhou Yongkang, member of the 17th CPC Politburo Standing Committee
- Osric Chau, Canadian actor
- Wakin Chau (Emil Chau), musician, singer
- Chow Yun-fat, actor
- Stephen Chow, actor, director and comedian
- Jay Chou (Chou Chie Lun), Taiwanese musician, singer, songwriter and director
- Bibi Zhou, Chinese singer and actress
- Chou Tzuyu, a Taiwanese member of the South-Korean girl group TWICE
- Endy Chow, singer
- Zhou Guangzhao, former president of Chinese Academy of Sciences,theoretical physicist
- China Chow, actress
- Kelsey Chow, actress
- Kathy Chow, actress
- Michael Chow Man-Kin, actor
- Niki Chow, actress
- Norm Chow, American football coach
- William Kwai Sun Chow, Martial artist
- Vivian Chow, singer
- Zhou Jianren, politician, younger brother of Lu Xun
- Wei-Liang Chow, mathematician
- Wen Tsing Chow, missile guidance scientist
- Malese Jow, Chinese-American teen actress
- Vic Zhou, actor, singer
- Zhou Haiyan (born 1990), Chinese female middle-distance runner
- Zhou Long, composer
- Zhou Mi, Chinese female badminton player
- Zhou Mi, Chinese pop male singer from the boy band Super Junior-M
- Zhou Shuren, writer using the pseudonym Lu Xun
- Zhou Peiyuan, former president of Peking University, theoretical physicist
- Zhou Xiaochuan, economist
- Zhou Xiaoyan (born 1917), soprano and voice teacher
- Zhou Xuan (1918-1957), actress
- Zhou Xun, actress
- Zhou Yi (disambiguation)
- Zhou Zuoren, writer, brother of Lu Xun
- Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat, world famous Malaysian born London shoe designer.
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.
- 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