Ou (surname) explained
Ou is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surnames Chinese: 區 and Chinese: 歐, which share a common origin with the compound surname Ouyang (Chinese: 歐陽), from the ruling family of the State of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period. They are commonly romanized as Au or Ao in Cantonese.
Ou 歐 is listed 361st in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.[1] As of 2008, Ou 欧 is the 134th most common surname in China, shared by 1.13 million people.[2]
Most recently, by using the 2010 China census data and statistical analysis data that included random sampling from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the Fuxi Culture Research Association ranked the surname Chinese: 区/Chinese: 區 291st most common in China, shared by around 199,000 people (0.015% of the Chinese population) with the largest concentration of holders in Guangdong province.[3]
Distribution
Ou was the 27,293th most common surname in the United States during the 1990 census and the 11,845th most common surname during the 2000 census. Au ranked 11,417th and 5,195th, and Ao ranked 88,459th and 58,402nd.[4]
During the 2010 census, Ou, Au and Ao ranked as the 7,891st, 4,919th and 41,501st most common surname respectively.[5]
Origins
The Ou (Chinese: 歐) and Ouyang are considered to both descend from the ruling family of the state of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period.With the Chinese: 區 variant being descendants of Ou An (Chinese: 歐安), a wealthy and charitable merchant who came to the attention of Emperor Jing of Han, who ordered that Ou An do without the radical 'qian' (Chinese: 欠) from Chinese: 歐, a character that means 'to owe'.
Many Ou have their ancestral roots in the Longgang, Zhongshan, Shunde, Panyu, and Xinhui areas of Guangdong.
List of people with the surname
Au (Chinese: 區)
- 區瑞強 Albert Au Shui Keung, Hong Kong DJ and folk singer
- 區文詩 Angela Au Man Sze, Hong Kong DJ and member of Cookies
- 區錦新 Au Kam San, Macanese legislator
- 區雪兒 Susie Au Suet Yee, Hong Kong music-video director
- 區德 Au Tak or Au Chak-mun (1840–1920), Hong Kong developer, namesake of Kai Tak Airport and Munsang College
- 區丁平 Tony Au Ting-Ping, Hong Kong film and art director
- 區鳳墀 Au Fung-Chi, early Protestant leader in Hong Kong, gave name to Sun Yat-sen
- 區諾軒 Au Nok-hin, Hong Kong politician
- 區燕青 Alice Au Yin-ching, Hong Kong actress
- 區志偉 Au Chi-wai, Hong Kong snooker and pool player
- 區慶祥 Thomas Au Hing-cheung, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong
- 區嘉宏 Au Ka-wang, Director of Immigration of Hong Kong
- 區凱琳 Au Hoi Lam, Hong Kong artist
- 區嘉雯 Patra Au Ga Man, Hong Kong actress
Aw (Chinese: 區)
Ow (Chinese: 區)
Ou (Chinese: 區)
Ao (Chinese: 歐)
Au (Chinese: 歐)
- 歐倩怡 Cindy Au Sin Yee, Hong Kong TV actress
- 歐健兒 Au Kin-Yee, Hong Kong scriptwriter
- 歐丁玉 Michael Au Ding Yuk, Hong Kong music producer
- 歐錦棠 Stephen Au Kam Tong, Hong Kong TV actor
- 歐偉倫 Au Wai Lun, Hong Kong soccer player
- 歐詠芝 Annie Au Wing Chi, Hong Kong squash player
- 歐鎧淳 Stephanie Au Hoi-Shun, Hong Kong swimmer
- 歐鎮銘 Leo Au Chun Ming, Hong Kong squash player
- 歐菁仙 Sharon Au, Singaporean actress
- 歐曉瑜 Michelle Au, American anesthesiologist and politician
- 歐豪年 Au Ho-nien, Chinese painter
Aw (Chinese: 歐)
Ou (Chinese: 歐)
Au (not classified)
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: http://www.guoxue.com/gxrm/gx_bjx.htm . zh:百家姓 . Hundred Family Surnames . Guoxue . zh . 2014-10-28.
- Web site: http://www.taiwan.cn/zppd/XSDG/200901/t20090106_811068.htm . zh:中国最新300大姓排名（2008）. 300 most common surnames in China (2008) . Taiwan.cn . zh . 2009-01-06 . 2014-10-28.
- http://news.xinhuanet.com/yzyd/local/20130415/c_115385312.htm “百家姓”排行榜刷新“王”取代“李”成第一大姓氏
- [US Census Bureau]
- Frequently Occurring Surnames from the 2010 Census. "https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html"
