The Chou surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,834 people carried this name — #3,610 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 30,000 people counted. That is up 25% from 7,885 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Chou surname
From Mandarin 周 (Zhōu), Wade–Giles romanization: Chou¹.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chou» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 135 people named Chou.
Most of them — 74 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 19 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 58 people named Chou live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
35 people named Chou live in Switzerland.
They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 35 people named Chou live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
43 people named Chou is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Chou,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Chou Huiying 1923–2017 · politician -
Ya-lun Chou 1922–
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Irene Chou 1924–2011 · painter
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Chou Jifan 1934– · meteorologist
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Chou Jifan 1934– · meteorologist
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Wushow Chou 1939– · professor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Chou.
- Chon 3,643 · U.S. census
- Chong 15,146 · U.S. census
- Chopin 622 · U.S. census
- Choplin 419 · U.S. census
- Choppin 130 · U.S. census
- Choque 212 · U.S. census
- Chouteau 223 · U.S. census
- Choy 5,254 · U.S. census
- Chretien 1,432 · U.S. census
- Christ 7,261 · U.S. census
- Christal 417 · U.S. census
- Christe 245 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Chou is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.