Given name & surname
Chau
“having strength of character”
Chau is a variant of Chasina. One Aramaic interpretation is “having strength of character.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Chau is a variant of Chasina. One Aramaic interpretation is “having strength of character.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Chau is a variant of Chasina. An origin associated with Chasina is Aramaic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Cantonese 周 (zau¹), from Vietnamese Châu.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1975. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Chau through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 496
- 107 boys · 389 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 35 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 7 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,189 as a first name in 2020; 17,795 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Chau’s family of names
In English usage, Chau as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with Zhou. Chau has a related form in Chasina. In English usage, Chau as a surname was borrowed from the Vietnamese form Châu.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Chau
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Chau, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Anh
“one who offers safety and peace”
34% boys · 66% girls
Afton
“from the Afton river”
16% boys · 84% girls
Aja
1% boys · 99% girls
Michal
“brook”
27% boys · 73% girls
Brandi
“a woman wielding a sword; an alcoholic drink”
>99% girls
Brie
“from the high hill; one who ascends”
>99% girls
Joi
“a delight; one who brings pleasure to others”
>99% girls
Candace
“a queen” · “one who is white and glowing”
>99% girls