Lou (surname 娄)
Pronunciation | Lóu (Mandarin) |
---|---|
Language(s) | Chinese |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Old Chinese |
Lóu is the
Demographics
As of 2008, Lou 娄 is the 229th most common surname in China, with a population of approximately 350,000, or 0.028% of the total Chinese population.[2][3] Guizhou province has the largest number of people with the surname, accounting for 23% of the total. It is followed by Shandong, Henan, and Hebei provinces, which account for another 33% of Lous.[3]
Origins
According to tradition, there are two main sources of the Lou 娄 surname:
1. From the
2. From the state of
Later adoption
During the
During the Xianbei Northern Wei dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen (reigned 467–499 AD) implemented a drastic policy of sinicization, ordering his own people to adopt Chinese surnames. The Pilou 匹娄, Yilou 伊娄, and Yinalou 乙那娄 tribes of Xianbei adopted Lou 娄 as their surname. This is the main source of the Lou surname in Henan province.[3]
Prominent clans
The most prominent clan of the Lou 娄 surname is that of the
The Shanghai Library has in its collection five genealogy books of Lou-surnamed lineages. Nine other genealogy books are known to be in the collection of other institutions in China and the United States.[3]
Notable people
- Lou Jing (婁敬; fl. c. 200 BC), Han dynasty official and proponent of the heqin policy, renamed Liu Jing after being awarded the imperial surname of Liu
- Lou Zhaojun (婁昭君; 501–562), Empress Dowager of the Northern Qi dynasty, of Xianbei ethnicity
- Lou Shide (婁師德; 630–699), Tang dynasty chancellor
- Lou Qinjian (娄勤俭; born 1956), governor of Shaanxi province
- Lou Ye (娄烨; born 1965), "sixth-generation" film director
- Lou Zhenggang (婁正綱; born 1966), artist
- Lou Yixiao (娄艺潇; born 1988), actress
- African American-Chinese talent show contestant
References
- ^ "百家姓" [Hundred Family Surnames] (in Chinese). Guoxue. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
- ^ 中国最新300大姓排名(2008) [300 most common surnames in China (2008)] (in Chinese). Taiwan.cn. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 娄氏起源 [Origin of the Lou surname] (in Chinese). Greater China Genealogy. Retrieved 2014-02-25.