Lau Family History
- Lau Name Meaning
- German: nickname for a physically strong person, from Middle High German louwe, lauwe ‘lion’. In some cases the surname may have been originally from a house sign. North German: topographic name for someone living in a bush-covered area or clearing, Middle Low German lo, loch, lage. North German and Dutch: from a vernacular short form of the personal name Laurentius (see Lawrence). Dutch: nickname from Middle Dutch laeu ‘lazy’, ‘indifferent’, ‘faint-hearted’. Chinese : Cantonese form of Liu 1. Chinese : Cantonese form of Liu 3. Chinese : variant of Lao 2.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
- 343,948 Historical Documents with Lau on Ancestry
- 192,217 Birth, Marriage, and Deaths
- 24,926 Census and Voter Lists
- 17,296 Military Records
- 45,499 Immigration Records
- 64,010 Member Trees
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Number of Lau families
 3 - 4  2 - 2 |
 1  |
from the 1891 England and Wales Census Data
| Sorry, we couldn't find geographic distribution information for the Lau last name |
from the 1891 Scotland Census Data
Lau census records
You can see how Lau families moved over time by selecting different Census years.
Census records can tell you little-known facts about your ancestors such as birthplace, occupation and value of personal estate.
from the New York Passengers List
Click on a place to view Lau immigration records
The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry. You can find out where the majority of the Lau families were living before they immigrated to the U.S and learn where to focus your search for foreign records.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure, port of arrival, and destination.
from the New York Passenger Lists
Click on a circle in the chart to view Lau emigration records
You can find out when most of the Lau families immigrated to the United States. You can focus your search to emigration records dating from that era.
Emigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure, port of arrival and destination.
from 1881 UK Census Data
Lau census records
Census records can offer a lot of little known facts about your Lau ancestors, such as occupation.
Occupation can tell you about your ancestors' social status and economic status.
Did the Laus fight in a war? Military records can tell you a lot
about your ancestors including birthplace, occupation and even physical descriptions.
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