Leung
A common Chinese surname, best known as the Cantonese spelling of several Chinese surnames written with different characters.
The #1,747 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,064 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Leung is a Cantonese romanization used for more than one Chinese surname, most commonly 梁, which means a beam or bridge support. In English-language records it can also reflect other Chinese names pronounced similarly in Cantonese, so the spelling does not point to a single original character by itself. Because Chinese surnames are tied to written characters rather than one fixed Roman spelling, the surname Leung is a transliteration rather than an inherited English-family name.
History
The spelling became common in Cantonese-speaking communities, especially among emigrants from Guangdong and Hong Kong. In North America and other English-speaking countries, Leung often reflects older immigration-era romanization before standardized systems such as pinyin. It is therefore a useful clue to Cantonese family background, but it does not always identify the exact Chinese character without additional family information.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In many family records, two people spelled Leung in English may actually have different Chinese characters behind the same surname.