Au
A short surname that can come from several different linguistic traditions, most often linked to Chinese or other East Asian naming patterns, and sometimes to place-name or nickname origins elsewhere.
The #4,919 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,193 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Without a source excerpt, this surname has to be treated cautiously because Au can arise from more than one tradition. In Chinese usage, Au is often a romanization of names written with different Chinese characters, especially in Cantonese-based spellings. In some European cases, Au can also reflect a word for "meadow," "wetland," or "river-island" in Germanic and related languages, or a short form of a local place-name.
History
In the modern English-speaking world, Au is especially visible among families from southern China and Hong Kong, where Cantonese romanization has produced this spelling. The surname is also found more rarely in European records, where it may have independent local origins. Because the same spelling can represent unrelated surnames, family history and ancestral language are important for identifying the right origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Au is a classic example of a surname spelling that does not point to just one family line: the same three letters can represent different names in different languages.