Zhou surname meaning

Zhou is the Mandarin Romanization of the Chinese surname 周, meaning “surrounding” or “whole.” Its principal origin is the Zhou dynasty and the earlier Zhou fief in Shaanxi: after the dynasty fell, royal descendants of the Ji clan and others adopted Zhou as a family name. Dictionary treatments list further historical grants and non-Han adoptions of the same character. Wade–Giles Chou and Cantonese or Min forms such as Chow, Chau, and Chew are the same surname in other spellings. Place is high confidence: the name is rooted in a polity and fief, not in an occupation or nickname.