Chow is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

and

English surname English names are names used in, or originating in, England. In England as elsewhere in the English-speaking world, a complete name usually consists of a given name, commonly referred to as a first name, and a (most commonly patrilineal) family ...

Origins

As an

, Chow originated as a

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

, from Middle English , meaning "

chough There are two species of passerine birds commonly called chough ( ) that constitute the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' of the Corvidae (crow) family of birds. These are the red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), and the Alpine chough (or yell ...

" or "

jackdaw Jackdaws are two species of bird in the genus ''Coloeus'' closely related to, but generally smaller than, the crows and ravens (''Corvus''). ''Coloeus'' is sometimes treated as a subgenus of ''Corvus'', including by the IUCN.Madge & Burn (1994) ...

". As a

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

, Chow may be a romanisation of the pronunciations in different

varieties of Chinese Chinese, also known as Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast of main ...

of the following surnames, listed based on their

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

romanisation (which reflects the

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

pronunciation): * Zhōu (), romanised Chow based on its

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

pronunciation () * Zōu (), homophonous with the above surname in Cantonese, though not in other varieties of Chinese * Qiū (), romanised Chow based on its Cantonese pronunciation () * Zhào () * Cáo () *

Qiú Qiú is the Hanyu Pinyin transliteration of 仇 (Qiú) and 裘 (Qiú). 仇 (Qiú) There are three sources for the ancestry of 仇: #A Xia vassal by the name of Jiuwu (九吾) established the state of Jiu (九), but it was destroyed by King Zhou o ...

()

Statistics

According to statistics cited by

Patrick Hanks Patrick Hanks (born 24 March 1940) is an English lexicographer, corpus linguist, and onomastician. He has edited dictionaries of general language, as well as dictionaries of personal names. Background Hanks was educated at Ardingly College, ...

, there were 1,459 people on the island of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and 49 on the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

with the surname Chow as of 2011. In 1881 there had been 19 people with the surname in Great Britain, mainly in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

found 17,059 people with the surname Chow, making it the 2,122nd-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 15,650 (2,124th-most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, slightly less than nine-tenths of the bearers of the surname identified as Asian, between three and four per cent as

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, and between three and four percent as

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...

. It was the 72nd-most-common surname among respondents to the 2000 Census who identified as Asian.

People

Chinese surname Zhōu ()

Shouson Chow Sir Shouson Chow (; 1861–1959), KBE, LLD, JP, also known as Chow Cheong-Ling (), was a Hong Kong businessman. He had been a Qing dynasty official and prominent in the Government of Hong Kong. Family Chow is said to have been born in Wong ...

(; 1861–1959), Hong Kong businessman * M. D. Chow (; 1878–1949), Chinese philatelist and mathematician * Chow Chih (; 1890–1953), Chinese general of the Second Sino-Japanese War *

Chow Chi-yuen Chow Chi-yuen (; 1900–1971) was a Hong Kong entrepreneur and the founder of Chow Tai Fook. He was the father-in-law of Cheng Yu-tung (鄭裕彤), chairman of New World Development, and was born in Shunde, Guangdong, China. Chow set up his fir ...

(; 1900–1971), Hong Kong businessman, founder of the Chow Tai Fook jewellery chain * Chow Chung-cheng (; 1908–1996), Chinese-born artist in Germany *

Wei-Liang Chow Chow Wei-Liang (; October 1, 1911, Shanghai – August 10, 1995, Baltimore) was a Chinese mathematician and stamp collector born in Shanghai, known for his work in algebraic geometry. Biography Chow was a student in the US, graduating from the ...

(; 1911–1995), Shanghai-born mathematician who worked in algebraic geometry *

Wen Tsing Chow Wen Tsing Chow (; 1918–2001), was a Chinese-born American missile guidance scientist and a digital computer pioneer, known for the invention of programmable read-only memory or PROM. Biography Chow was born in Taiyuan, Shanxi in 1918. He receive ...

(; 1918–2001), Chinese-born American missile guidance scientist * Ven Te Chow (; 1919–1981), Chinese-born engineer and educator in the United States *

Ruby Chow Ruby Chow (June 6, 1920 – June 4, 2008; ) was a Chinese American restaurateur and politician in Seattle, Washington. Early life On June 6, 1920 Chow was born on a fishing dock in Seattle, Washington. Her given name was Mar Seung-gum. Chow's ...

(; 1920–2008), American restaurateur and politician * Chow Lien-hwa (; 1920–2016), Chinese Baptist minister * Yuan-Shih Chow (; 1924–2022), Chinese-born American statistician *

Chow Kwen Lim Chow Kwen Lim BBS, MBE, JP, (1928–2016) in Shunde, Guangdong, is the founder and the chairman of Chow Sang Sang Jewellery Company, one of the most popular gold and jewellery accessories retailers in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. He was a mem ...

(; 1928–2016), Hong Kong businessman, founder of the Chow Sang Sang jewellery chain * Chow Chung (; born 1931), Hong Kong film and television actor *

Chow Yei-ching Chow Yei-ching, (Chinese: 周亦卿; 1 September 1935 – 29 July 2018) was a Hong Kong businessman who was the chairman, managing director and chairman emeritus of Chevalier International Holdings, an international conglomerate, comprising ...

(; 1935–2018), Hong Kong businessman * Chow Ching Lie (; born 1936), Chinese-born French writer * Chow Yam-nam (; 1937–2013), Thai guru *

Michael Chow (restaurateur) Michael Chow (; born 7 March 1939) is a British Chinese restaurateur, interior designer, artist and former actor. Chow, also known as M, is the co-founder and owner of the Mr Chow restaurant chain. He has appeared in numerous films, held solo a ...

(; born 1939), founder of the Mr. Chow restaurant chain * Chow Kwai Lam (; 1942–2018), Malaysian footballer * Esther Ngan-ling Chow (; born 1943), Chinese-born sociologist in the United States * Louise Chow (; born 1943), Chinese-born biochemistry professor in the United States *

Selina Chow Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee (; born 25 January 1945) is a former Hong Kong television executive and politician. She was a member of the Legislative Council for nearly three decades, and was also a member of the Executive Council. She is honorar ...

(; born 1945), Hong Kong media executive and politician * Cheryl Chow (1946–2013), American educator and politician, daughter of Ruby Chow * Norm Chow (; born 1946), American football coach * Chow Kai Wing (; born 1947), Hong Kong history professor *

York Chow York Chow Yat-ngok (; born 1947, Hong Kong), GBS, SBS, MBE, was the Secretary for Food and Health of Hong Kong and a member of the Executive Council. He was appointed as Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food in 2004. The position has since ...

(; born 1947), Hong Kong politician *

Chow Chung-kong Sir Chung-kong Chow , FREng, FCGI, FIChemE (; born 9 September 1950), also known as Chow Chung-kong and C.K. Chow, is a former non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, and the chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, whic ...

(; born 1950), Hong Kong engineer, former CEO of the MTR Corporation *

Tina Chow Tina Chow (born Bettina Louise Lutz, April 18, 1950 – January 24, 1992) was an American model and jewelry designer who was considered an influential fashion icon of the 1970s and 1980s. She was the second wife of restaurateur Michael Chow ...

(born Bettina Louise Lutz; 1950–1992), American model and jewelry designer, wife of restaurateur Michael Chow *

David Chow (politician) Chow Kam Fai, David () (born 1950 in Hong Kong) is a Macau businessman and politician. His businesses are involved in the tourism, entertainment and gambling industries. and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Macau. He is the CEO of Macau ...

(; born 1950), Macau politician * George Chow (; born ), Hong Kong-born Canadian politician *

Robert Chow Robert Chow Yung (; born 22 April 1950), Bronze Bauhinia Star, BBS, is a Hong Kong journalist and media personality who is a former RTHK radio host. He is currently the spokesman of the pro-Beijing conservative Alliance for Peace and Democracy ...

(; born 1950), Hong Kong journalist * Ronald Chow (; born 1951), Hong Kong politician *

Christine Chow Ma Christine Chow Ma (Christine Chow Mei-ching) (; born November 30, 1952) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese lawyer and former First Lady of the Republic of China from 2008 until 2016. She is married to Ma Ying-jeou, the former president of Taiwan. Bi ...

(; born 1952), Hong Kong-born wife of former Republic of China president Ma Ying-jeou * Stephen Chow Chun-kay (; born 1954), Hong Kong businessman * Jennifer Chow (; born 1955), Hong Kong politician *

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: ''A Better Tomorrow'', ''A Be ...

(; born 1955), Hong Kong film actor * Chow Wai-keung (; born ), Hong Kong social worker and politician *

Billy Chow Billy Chow Bei-lei ( zh, 周比利; born August 24, 1958) is a Hong Kong-Canadian martial artist, film actor, and retired professional kickboxer. He was the WKA world Welterweight champion from 1984 to 1986, and retired with a professional recor ...

(; born 1958), Hong Kong film actor and kickboxer * Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow (; born 1959), Hong Kong-born organized crime boss in San Francisco *

Michael Chow (actor) Michael Chow Man-Kin ( 周文健) is a Beijing-born Hong Kong-based actor. Filmography * '' Inspector Chocolate'' (1986) - Inspector Leung * '' Goodbye Darling'' (1987) - Party Member with gun * '' City War'' (1988) - Bobby * ''The Big Heat'' ...

(; born 1960), Hong Kong actor *

Stephen Chow Stephen Chow Sing-chi (, born 22 June 1962), known professionally as Stephen Chow, is a Hong Kong filmmaker, former actor and comedian, known for ''Shaolin Soccer'' and ''Kung Fu Hustle''. Early life and education Stephen Chow was born in Hong Kon ...

(; born 1962), Hong Kong film actor and director *

Kathy Chow Kathy Chow Hoi-mei (; born 6 December 1966 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong actress and singer who is widely known for her leading roles in Hong Kong TVB series during the late 1980s to 1990s such as ''The Breaking Point'' and '' Time Before Ti ...

(; born 1966), Chinese actress and singer *

Vivian Chow Vivian Chow Wai-man (, born 10 November 1967) is a Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer-songwriter and actress. Life and career Vivian Chow is the only child in her family. Her father died before her birth due to heart disease. She was brought u ...

(; born 1967), Hong Kong actress and singer *

Valerie Chow Valerie Chow (born 16 December 1970) is a Canadian former actress, fashion publicist, and entrepreneur. She has starred in numerous widely popular films and television series, most memorably in Wong Kar-wai's internationally acclaimed 1994 feat ...

(; born 1970), Hong Kong actress and fashion publicist * Angela Chow (; born 1972), Taiwan-born Canadian actress * Chow Tsz Ki (; born 1972), Hong Kong fencer *

China Chow China Eiko Chow (born 15 April 1974) is a British-born American actress and model. Life Chow was born in London to restaurateur Michael Chow and his wife, model/designer Tina Chow (). Her paternal grandfather was the Peking Opera's Zhou Xi ...

(born 1974), British actress, daughter of restaurateur Michael Chow * Wave Chow (; born 1975), Hong Kong newspaper columnist *

Amy Chow Amy Yuen Yee Chow (Chinese: 周婉儀; pinyin: Zhōu Wǎnyí; born May 15, 1978) is an American former artistic gymnast who competed at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. She is best known for being a member of the Magnificent Seven, which ...

(; born 1978), American gymnast who competed in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics *

Duncan Chow Duncan Chow (; born Duncan Lai (黎登勤), September 19, 1978) is a Hong Kong-born actor who is popular in Taiwan. Chow was originally a professional windsurfer and a fashion show model, but chose acting as a career in 2001. He rose to fame by sta ...

(; born 1978), Hong Kong actor *

Endy Chow Endy Chow Kwok-yin (born 11 December 1979) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and songwriter. Early life Chow was born on 11 December 1979 at Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital in Happy Valley, his family immigrated to New Zealand when he was 13. He ...

(; born 1979), Hong Kong singer *

Holden Chow Holden Chow Ho-ding (; born 7 June 1979) is a Hong Kong solicitor and politician. He is vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest pro-Beijing party in Hong Kong, and a former chai ...

(; born 1979), Hong Kong solicitor and actor *

Niki Chow Niki Chow (周勵淇, previously 周麗淇; born August 30, 1979) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Early life Chow was born and raised in Hong Kong. She is fluent in Mandarin. However, netizens have pointed that her Cantonese pronunciation ...

(; born 1979), Hong Kong actress and singer * Chow Chun Fai (; born 1980), Hong Kong artist * Chow Ho-Wan (; born 1982), Hong Kong racing rider *

Janet Chow Janet Chow () (born 25 August 1983, in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong actress. She has ancestry in Shanghai. She was the 2nd runner-up in the 2006 Miss Hong Kong competition. She attended Markville Secondary School in Markham, Ontario and University ...

(; born 1983), Hong Kong actress * Crystal Chow (; born 1986), Hong Kong activist * Edward Chow (; born 1987), Hong Kong figure skater * Lori Chow (; born 1988), Canadian-born Hong Kong fashion model * Chow Cheuk Fung (; born 1989), Hong Kong footballer *

Alex Chow Alex Chow Yong-kang (; born 18 August 1990) is a social activist from Hong Kong and current doctoral candidate in geography at the University of California, Berkeley.Tim Chow (; born 1994), British footballer who played for Chinese Taipei at the international level *

Agnes Chow Agnes Chow Ting ( zh, t=周庭, born 3 December 1996) is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. She is a former member of the Standing Committee of Demosistō and former spokesperson of Scholarism. Her candidacy for the 2018 Hong Kong ...

(; born 1996), Hong Kong activist *

Rey Chow Rey Chow (born 1957) is a cultural critic, specializing in 20th-century Chinese fiction and film and postcolonial theory. Educated in Hong Kong and the United States, she has taught at several major American universities, including Brown Univer ...

(; ), Hong Kong-born cultural critic

Chinese surname Zōu ()

* Edmund Chow (; born 1925), Hong Kong lawyer *

Raymond Chow Raymond Chow Man-wai, (; 8 October 1927 – 2 November 2018) was a Hong Kong film producer, and presenter. He was responsible for successfully launching martial arts and the Hong Kong cinema onto the international stage. As the founder of G ...

(; 1927–2018), Hong Kong film producer and executive * Gregory Chow (; born 1930), Chinese-born American economist *

Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (; born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian retired politician who was a federal New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) representing Trinity—Spadina from 2006 to 2014. Chow ran in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election, placin ...

(; born 1957), Hong Kong-born Canadian politician *

Matt Chow Matthew "Matt" Chow Hoi-Kwong (, born 4 August 1968) is a Hong Kong screenwriter, director, actor and producer. He is best known for his romantic comedy films, and has served as a screenwriter for filmmakers Peter Chan, Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai, ...

(; born 1968), Hong Kong screenwriter * Chow Ka Wa (; born 1986), Hong Kong footballer * Chow Kwong Wing (; born 1986), Hong Kong rower * Chow Mei Kuan (; born 1994), Malaysian badminton player

Chinese surname Zhào ()

* Stefen Chow (; born 1980), Malaysian photographer * Jun Yi Chow (), Malaysian composer

Chinese surname Cáo ()

* Raymond Chow (artist) (; born 1941), Canadian artist *

Chow Kon Yeow Chow Kon Yeow ( zh, s=曹观友, t=曹觀友, p=Cáo Guānyǒu, c=, poj=Chô Kuan-iú; born 14 November 1957) is a Malaysian politician who has served as 5th Chief Minister of Penang since May 2018, Member of the Penang State Legislative Asse ...

(; born 1958), Malaysian politician

Chinese surname Qiáo ()

* Liang Chow (; born 1968), Chinese artistic gymnast

Chinese surname Qiú ()

Chow Chee Keong Chow Chee Keong (26 November 1948 – 21 February 2018) was a Malaysian football goalkeeper who played in Hong Kong. Career His nickname in Hong Kong was ''Asian Steel Gate'' () and ''Crazy Sword'' (). He was a Malaysian Chinese. In 1963, he ...

(; 1948–2018), Malaysian-born football goalkeeper in Hong Kong

Other

People with other surnames spelt Chow, or for whom the Chinese characters of their names are unavailable: * Gin Chow (1857–1933), Chinese immigrant fortune teller in California * Bob Chow (1907–2003), American sports shooter *

William Kwai Sun Chow William Kwai-sun Chow (July 3, 1914 – September 21, 1987, AKA William Ah Sun Chow-Hoon) was instrumental in the development of the martial arts in the United States, specifically the family of styles referred to as kenpo/ kempo. Born in Hono ...

(1914–1987), American martial artist * Chow Shiu-hung (born 1935), Hong Kong-born footballer who competed internationally for the Republic of China *

Chow Kwong Choi Chow Kwong Choi (born 3 December 1943) is a former Hong Kong cyclist. He competed in three events at the 1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event ...

(born 1943), Hong Kong cyclist, twin brother of Chow Kwong Man *

Chow Kwong Man Chow Kwong Man (born 3 December 1943) is a former Hong Kong cyclist. He competed in the individual road race and team time trial events at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He is the twin brother of Chow Kwong Choi Chow Kwong Choi (born 3 December ...

(born 1943), Hong Kong cyclist, twin brother of Chow Kwong Choi * Lucas Chow (born ), Singaporean media executive * Jade Chow Wei Mun (born 1957), Malaysian physician * Chow Tai Ming (born 1959), Hong Kong cyclist * Helen Chow (born 1965), Malaysian swimmer * Chow Lai Yee (born 1967), Hong Kong swimmer *

Johny Chow John Mark Bechtel (born February 1, 1972) is an American musician and artist. He is currently the bassist for the rock band Stone Sour. He is a former bassist for the bands Cavalera Conspiracy, Souls of We, Fireball Ministry, My Ruin, Cortez, ...

(born John Mark Bechtel, 1972), American guitarist * Stanley Chow (born 1974), British illustrator * Felice Chow (born 1977), Trinidad and Tobago rower * Winston Chow (born 1977), American activist *

Kelsey Chow Kelsey Asbille Chow (born September 9, 1991) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Mikayla in the Disney XD sitcom '' Pair of Kings'', and as Monica Long in the TV Series ''Yellowstone''. From 2005 to 2009, she had a recurring rol ...

(born 1991), American actress * Chi-Ming Chow (), Canadian cardiologist *

Deborah Chow Deborah Chow (born June 16, 1972) is a Canadian filmmaker, television director and screenwriter known for her independent films and her work on '' Star Wars'' television. Two of her first short films, ''Daypass'' (2002) and ''The Hill'' (2004) hav ...

(), Australian-born Canadian filmmaker * Edmond Chow (), American computer scientist * Jack Chow, American professor of public health * Jennifer Chow (novelist), American novelist * Jerry M. Chow, American physicist * K. Victor Chow, American finance professor * May Chow, Canadian chef * Peter Sienpin Chow, electrical engineer in the United States * Yucho Chow (), Canadian photographer

Fictional characters

David Chow (The Young and the Restless) A list of notable characters from the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' that significantly impacted storylines and debuted between January 2000 and December 2009. Alex Perez Alex Perez first appeared on November 29, 2000, later be ...

* Leslie Chow, a character played by

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

in '' The Hangover Trilogy''

References

{{surname Chinese-language surnames English-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames