Shou Family History

Chinese:: Mandarin form of the surname 壽 meaning ‘longevity’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by the descendants of Peng Zu, a legendary long-lived figure (said to have lived over 800 years) during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC). (ii) said to be borne by descendants of Shou Meng (壽夢 620–561 BC) king of the state of Wu.

Mandarin form of the surname 首 meaning ‘head’ in ancient Chinese: (i) possibly from the first element of the placenames Shou Yang (首陽) (possibly located in present-day Gansu province) or Shou Zhi (首止) (located in present-day Henan province). (ii) said to be a surname from Indian immigrants to China in ancient times.

variant Romanization of the surname 蕭 (or 肖) see Xiao.