Zhou Family History

Chinese:: Mandarin form of the surname 周 meaning ‘surrounding’ or ‘whole’ in Chinese: (i) from Zhou (周) originally the name of a fief (located in present-day Qishan in Shaanxi Province) where Zhou Wen Wang (1152–1056 BC; ‘King Wen of Zhou’) resided. Zhou was famous for his virtue and good nature. He had eighteen sons almost all of whom received fiefdoms. He is regarded as the founder of the Western Zhou dynasty although it was in fact his son King Wu of Zhou (c. 1087–1043 BC) who overthrew the Shang dynasty. The Zhou dynasty lasted until 256 BC when it was annexed by the state of Qin. At that time Zhou was acquired as a surname. (ii) borne by descendants of Zhou Lie (周烈) son of King Ping of Zhou (died 720 BC) who was granted the fief Ru Nan (located in present-day Henan province). (iii) said to be borne by descendants of Zhou Chang (周昌) a general during the reign of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (iv) said to be borne by descendants of Zhou Ren (周任) an official during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC). (v) adopted in place of the Chinese surname Ji (姬) during the reign of the emperor Li Long Ji also known as Emperor Ming of Tang or Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (685－762 AD) because the surname Ji (姬) happened to have the same pronunciation as part of the personal name of the emperor which was taboo in ancient China. (vi) adopted as a surname by the Pu (普) and He Lu (賀魯) families from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). (vii) adopted as a surname by Pu Nai Yao (also called Zhou Yao 周摇 519 - 602 AD) a general during the Northern Zhou dynasty (557–581 AD). (viii) borne by descendants of Cheng Na who was endowed with the surname Zhou (周) during the Later Liang Dynasty (907–923 AD). (ix) borne by descendants of an official called Ji Zuo who was endowed with the surname Zhou (周) by Emperor Suzong of Tang (reigned 756–762 AD). (x) adopted as a Han Chinese surname by other ethnic groups in ancient China. variant Romanization of the surname 鄒 see Zou .

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022