Yau (surname)

Yau is a surname. It is a romanisation of multiple surnames in Cantonese speaking regions (including Hong Kong) based on different varieties of Chinese, as well as a surname in other cultures.

Among respondents to the 2000 United States Census, Yau was the 394th-most common surname among Asian Pacific Americans, and 10,881th-most common overall, with 2,686 bearers (93.9% of whom identified as Asian/Pacific Islander).

Cantonese romanisation of 丘

 * Shing-Tung Yau (丘成桐; born 1949), Chinese-born American mathematician
 * Stephen Shing-Toung Yau (丘成栋; born 1952), Hong Kong-born American mathematician, brother of Shing-Tung Yau
 * Algernon Yau (丘應樺; born 1959), Hong Kong businessperson and polictican
 * Alan Yau (丘德威; born 1962), Hong Kong-born British restaurateur
 * Yau Kin Wai (丘健威; born 1973), Hong Kong football defender

Cantonese romanisation of 邱

 * Yau Leung (邱良; 1941–1997), Hong Kong street photographer
 * Yau Lop Poon (邱立本; born 1950), Hong Kong journalist
 * Edward Yau (邱騰華; born 1960), Hong Kong government official
 * Herman Yau (邱禮濤; born 1961), Hong Kong film director
 * Chingmy Yau (邱淑貞; born 1968), Hong Kong actress
 * Benny Yau (邱穟恆; born 1980), Hong Kong-born Canadian television presenter
 * Yung Yau (邱勇), Hong Kong housing studies professor
 * Stanley Yau (邱士縉), member of Hong Kong boy band Mirror
 * Tiger Yau (邱傲然), member of Hong Kong boy band Mirror

Cantonese romanisation of 尤

 * Yau Lit (尢列; 1864–1936), Chinese revolutionary
 * Carrie Yau (尤曾家麗; born 1955), Hong Kong government official

Cantonese romanisation of 游

 * King-Wai Yau (游景威; born 1948), Chinese-born American neuroscientist
 * Patrick Yau (游達志; born 1964), Hong Kong film director
 * Yau Nai-hoi (游乃海; born 1968), Hong Kong screenwriter
 * Yau Kam Leung (游錦良; born 1985), Hong Kong football defender
 * Neo Yau (游學修; born 1990), Hong Kong actor
 * Yau Wai-ching (游蕙禎; born 1991), Hong Kong politician

Mandarin romanisation of 姚
Yau is the spelling in Gwoyeu Romatzyh (a less common-system of transcribing Mandarin Chinese) of the surname spelled Yào in the more widespread pinyin system.


 * Horng-Tzer Yau (姚鴻澤; born 1959), Taiwanese-born American mathematician
 * John Yau (born 1950), American poet of Chinese descent

Other
People with a non-Chinese surname Yau, or whose names as written in Chinese characters are not available:
 * Sahabi Alhaji Yaú (born 1956), Nigerian politician
 * Yairo Yau (born 1989), Panamanian footballer
 * Stephen Sik-Sang Yau, American computer scientist
 * David Yau Yau, South Sudanese government administrator and former insurrectionist leader