Gou Family History

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 苟 meaning ‘careless’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by descendants of the legendary Huang Di or ‘the Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (ii) from the placename Gou (苟) the name of a fief granted to an official in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) adopted in place of the Chinese surname Xun (荀) by an official in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) in order to escape from persecution.

(iv) adopted in place of the Chinese surname Gou (句) during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Song (1107–1187 AD) since the surname happened to share similar pronunciation with the personal name of the emperor which was taboo in ancient China. (v) adopted in place of the Chinese surname Jing (敬) during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Later Jin (892–942 AD) since the surname happened to be part of the personal name of the emperor (whose personal name was Jingtang 敬塘) which was taboo in ancient China. (vi) adopted as the surname by the Ruo Gan (若干) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD).

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 勾 (or written as 句) said to be traced back to the post-name Gou Mang (勾芒 or 句芒) an official title of Chong son of the legendary king Shao Hao (c. 26th century BC).

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 緱: (i) said to be borne by the descendants of Zong Jing a grandson of King Ling of Zhou (died 545 BC). (ii) possibly from the placename Gou (緱) the name of a fief (located in Henan province) during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). (iii) adopted by the Ke Hou (渴侯) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD).

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 芶: (i) adopted in place of another Chinese surname Gou (勾) which shared a similar pronunciation with the personal name of Emperor Gaozong of Song (1107–1187 AD) a taboo in ancient China. (ii) possibly interchangeable with another surname 苟 in ancient China. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 郭 see Guo Catalan: from the medieval ancient Germanic personal name Gaud or Gauto.