Ou is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surnames and , which share a common origin with the compound surname Ouyang (), 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 æÂ is listed 361st in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames. As of 2008, Ou 欧 is the 134th most common surname in China, shared by 1.13 million people.
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 / 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.
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.
During the 2010 census, Ou, Au and Ao ranked as the 7,891st, 4,919th and 41,501st most common surname respectively.
Origins
The Ou () and Ouyang are considered to both descend from the ruling family of the state of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period. With the variant being descendants of Ou An (), 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' () from , 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 ()
- Ã¥ÂÂçÂÂå¼· Albert Au Shui Keung, Hong Kong DJ and folk singer
- Ã¥ÂÂæÂÂè©© Angela Au Man Sze, Hong Kong DJ and member of Cookies
- Ã¥ÂÂé¦æÂ° Au Kam San, Macanese legislator
- Ã¥ÂÂéªåÂ
 Susie Au Suet Yee, Hong Kong music-video director
- Ã¥ÂÂå¾· Au Tak or Au Chak-mun (1840âÂÂ1920), Hong Kong developer, namesake of Kai Tak Airport and Munsang College
- Ã¥ÂÂä¸Âå¹³ Tony Au Ting-Ping, Hong Kong film and art director
- Ã¥ÂÂ鳳墠Au Fung-Chi, early Protestant leader in Hong Kong, gave name to Sun Yat-sen
- Ã¥ÂÂ諾軠Au Nok-hin, Hong Kong politician
- Ã¥ÂÂçÂÂé Alice Au Yin-ching, Hong Kong actress
- Ã¥ÂÂå¿Âå Au Chi-wai, Hong Kong snooker and pool player
- Ã¥ÂÂæÂ
¶ç¥¥ Thomas Au Hing-cheung, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong
- Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂå® Au Ka-wang, Director of Immigration of Hong Kong
- Ã¥ÂÂå±ç³ Au Hoi Lam, Hong Kong artist
- Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂé¯ Patra Au Ga Man, Hong Kong actress
- Ã¥ÂÂ澤åÂ
 Chak Kwong Au, Canadian politician
- Ã¥ÂÂ天駿 Antares Au, (born 1979) Hong Kong racing driver
- Ã¥ÂÂç¯æÂ Au Cheuk-man, Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and actor
Aw ()
- Ã¥ÂÂå¾·æÂ Aw Teck Boon, Singaporean gang lord and murder victim
Ow ()
- Ã¥ÂÂèÂÂæ¼¢ Ow Yao Han, Malaysian badminton player
Ou ()
Ao ()
Au ()
- æÂÂå©æÂ¡ Cindy Au Sin Yee, Hong Kong TV actress
- æÂÂå¥åÂ
 Au Kin-Yee, Hong Kong scriptwriter
- æÂÂä¸Âç Michael Au Ding Yuk, Hong Kong music producer
- æÂÂé¦棠Stephen Au Kam Tong, Hong Kong TV actor
- æÂÂÃ¥ÂÂå« Au Wai Lun, Hong Kong soccer player
- æÂÂè© è Annie Au Wing Chi, Hong Kong squash player
- æÂÂé§淳 Stephanie Au Hoi-Shun, Hong Kong swimmer
- æÂÂé®é Leo Au Chun Ming, Hong Kong squash player
- æÂÂèÂÂä» Sharon Au, Singaporean actress
- æÂÂæÂÂç Michelle Au, American anesthesiologist and politician
- æÂÂ豪年 Au Ho-nien, Chinese painter
Aw ()
Ow ()
Ou ()
Au (not classified)
See also
References