Chou
A surname that can reflect French nickname forms built from chou, the word for “cabbage” and also a familiar term of endearment.
The #3,610 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 31,396 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In French, chou literally means “cabbage,” and it also developed affectionate uses in everyday speech. Historical surname collections show it being used in nickname-based family names, sometimes as a short form or nickname element rather than a straightforward occupational or place-name. In some cases it may be linked to descriptive or playful nicknaming, or to related forms built from the same word family.
History
The excerpts do not give a single clear, standard surname entry for CHOU, but they do show it appearing in French onomastic material as a nickname source. Related French surname forms such as Caule/Caulet are also glossed with chou in older dictionaries, suggesting a cluster of names built on the same regional word. Because the evidence is indirect, the surname should be treated as probably French in origin, but not as a uniquely fixed one-line derivation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In French, chou survives in modern expressions like mon chou, a term of endearment meaning something like “my dear.”
From the historical record
“taina Blcvln, of CroMon, co. Lane, AlKWwiR/wn, i66g: WiJl* ■[ Chou-^ <ia6o-8o> - -- potlX i6a7 : aii£^i6il-so), p. a*. ' Aa will be seen below, tbe aaine”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances