Liu

劉 / 刘 (Liu, Lao, Lau, Low, Lauv, Lieh, Lieu, Liew, Loo, Lew, Liou or Yu) is a common Chinese family name. The Liu (/ˈljuː/) as transcribed in English can represent several different surnames written in different Chinese characters:

Contents

• or Liu Lao Lau Low Lew Liew Lauv Lio Luu Ryu Yu Yoo
• Liu Lau Low Lauv Yu
• Liu Lew Liew Lao Ryu Yu
• Liao Liu Leow Lia Yu
• Prominent people with the family name
• Historical figures
• Contemporary
• Prominent people with family name Li
• References

In Cantonese transliteration, 刘/劉 (Liú) is Lau, Lao is also transliteration of 刘/劉 in Min Nan and Taiwanese Minnan Chinese language, whilst Liu is a different surname, 廖, pinyin: Liào, (Liêu in Vietnamese).

In Shanghainese, 刘/劉 is romanized as Lieu and rarely Lieh; 柳 is similarly romanized; whereas 廖 is transliterated as Lioh

In Teochew, 刘/劉 is usually romanized as Lau, Low or Lao; 柳 is written as Lew; and 廖 is romanized as Leow or Liau.

In Hakka, 刘/劉 is most commonly transliterated as Liew while 廖 is written as Liau or Liaw. The other variants of the romanised surname Liu, i.e. 柳, 留 and 六, are uncommon among speakers of Hakka.

In Gan, 刘/劉 is most commonly transliterated as Liew or Lieu, 廖 is written as Lieo or Liau.

The Indonesian-Chinese descent Latinise it according to Dutch pronunciation as Lauw.

In Vietnamese, the name can either take the form Liễu (in northern regions), or Lưu (in central or southern regions), or Lục. A few having Vietnamese-Chinese descent use the family name Lao.