Given name & surname · also Chinese
Chou
Chou is a surname from Mandarin, ultimately from Wade–Giles.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Chou comes from Mandarin, and ultimately from Wade–Giles.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1981. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Chou through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 60
- 60 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1989
- 9 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 boys is 5 in 1996. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9 in 1989. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 936 as a first name in 2020; 10,502 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.
Chou’s family of names
In Greek usage, Chou as a surname is a transliteration of Χου.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Chou, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Chu
Chu is a surname from Wade–Giles, ultimately from Mandarin. It is used in English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Indonesian.
>99% boys
Chao
“one who surpasses others” · “the great one”
89% boys · 11% girls
Cheng
Cheng is a surname from Cantonese, ultimately from Mandarin. It is used in English, French, and Tagalog.
>99% boys
Chun
“born during spring” · “born during the spring”
82% boys · 18% girls
Ho
“a good man”
>99% boys
Chung
Chung is a surname from Korean, ultimately from Chinese. It is used in English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Indonesian.
95% boys · 5% girls
Chang
“one who is unhindered”
98% boys · 2% girls
You
You is a surname from Wade–Giles, ultimately from Mandarin.
>99% boys