Explore the Family Name Dou
The meaning of Dou
1. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 竇, meaning ‘hole’ in ancient Chinese: (i) adopted as a surname by Yue Zhu and Yue Long, two sons of Shao Kang, the sixth king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). Yue Zhu and Yue Long are said to have adopted Dou (竇) (meaning ‘hole’) as a surname because their pregnant grandmother had escaped from a rebellion through a hole in the wall before giving birth to their father, Shao Kang, who later recaptured the throne. (ii) traced back to the Dou (竇) family from the Di ethnic group and some other families from the Xianbei ethnic group in ancient China. 2. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 豆, denoting an ancient stemmed cup of bowl: (i) traced back to some inhabitants in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) adopted as the surname by the Chi Xiao Dou (赤小豆) and Dou Lu (豆盧) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). 3. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 鈄, referring to a type of ancient vessel for drinking wine: said to be borne by the descendants of the Duke Kang of Qi (died 379 BC), who was ousted from his throne in the state of Qi and sent into exile. It was said that he was forced to use the vessel Dou (鈄) to cook food during his exile, and some of his descendants inherited Dou as the surname to memorize this period. 4. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 杜, possibly based on its Cantonese pronunciation, see Du 1. 5. French (southern): unexplained.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Dou in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Dou has seen a significant increase from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Dou ranked as the 69,201st most popular surname in the US, with a count of 265 and a proportion of 0.1 per 100,000 people. By 2010, however, it had risen to the 43,206th spot, with a count of 500 and a proportion of 0.17 per 100,000 people. This represents a change of 37.56% in rank and a substantial 88.68% increase in count over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #69,201 | #43,206 | 37.56% |
| Count | 265 | 500 | 88.68% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.1 | 0.17 | 70% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Dou
In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that a majority of individuals with the surname Dou identified as Asian/Pacific Islander in both 2000 and 2010. This group accounted for 77.36% of all Dous in 2000 and increased to 83.80% in 2010, an 8.32% increase. The proportion of those identifying with two or more ethnicities decreased significantly by 68.20%, while the percentage of Whites increased slightly by 9.03%. The Hispanic representation saw a minor decrease of 4.59%, and the proportion of Blacks and American Indian and Alaskan Natives was not recorded in 2010 due to data suppression for privacy reasons.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 77.36% | 83.8% | 8.32% |
| White | 6.42% | 7% | 9.03% |
| Hispanic | 5.66% | 5.4% | -4.59% |
| Two or More Races | 5.66% | 1.8% | -68.2% |
| Black | 4.91% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |