Chou Surname

Origins

An Ancient Feng Lineage

One lineage of the Chou surname derives from the ancient Feng surname and took the name “Nü Chou” of Nüwa as its surname.

Reference: “丑”姓人虽少，万一碰到，千万别读错了_网易订阅

Origins from Niu and Jiang

Some Chou families descend from Niu surname bearers who changed their surname to avoid calamity. Other lineages descend from the Qi officials Pang Choufu and Jing Chou, and pronounce the surname niǔ.

Reference: “丑”姓人虽少，万一碰到，千万别读错了_网易订阅

Ethnic Origins

Some descendants of the Jurchen Hutu clan changed their surname to Chou based on the meaning of the name, pronounced chǒu. Descendants of the Manchu Niohuru clan and some Mongols later changed their surname to Chou to avoid calamity, pronounced niǔ.

Reference: “丑”姓人虽少，万一碰到，千万别读错了_网易订阅

Historical Records

Records Associated with the Mencius

Gongsun Chou was a student of Mencius. After Mencius died, he and Wan Zhang recorded Mencius’s words and deeds and wrote the Mencius. His descendants took their ancestor’s name as their surname, pronounced hào.

Reference: “丑”姓人虽少，万一碰到，千万别读错了_网易订阅

Migration and Distribution

Contemporary Regional Distribution

Among relevant genetic-testing users with the Chou surname, ancestral registrations are mainly concentrated in Hunan and Liaoning, and the recorded ethnicities are primarily Han and Manchu.

Reference: 丑姓起源分布与家谱家族