Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 牛 meaning ‘cattle’ in Chinese: (i) from the first element of the personal name Niu Fu (牛父) an official who lived in the state of Song during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) borne by descendants of Niu Yun (牛允) an official who lived during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 钮 meaning ‘knob’ or ‘button’ in Chinese: possibly a surname from the Manchu ethnic group in ancient China. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 梁 possibly based on its Teochew or Hokkien pronunciations see Liang Tongan: unexplained.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022