Zhou (surname)

Zhōu
Zhou surname in regular script
Pronunciation	Zhōu (Pinyin) Chiu (Pe̍h-ōe-jī) [ʈʂóu] (IPA)
Language(s)	Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean
Origin
Language(s)	Old Chinese
Derivation	Zhou Dynasty
Other names
Variant(s)	Zhou, Chou (Mandarin) Chow, Chau (Hong Kong) Chao (Macao) Chew, Chiu (Hokkien, Teochew) Châu (Vietnamese)

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

The Korean equivalent is "Joo" or "Ju". In addition, the Vietnamese equivalent is "Châu" or "Chu".