Brou

Brou is a toponym and surname used in parts of Western Europe. As a place name, Brou appears in the names of several small settlements and geographic features. In many cases, the form is part of longer compound names and may indicate a local landscape characteristic such as a hillside, forest edge, or riverbank. The specific meaning and origin of the toponym vary between locales, and there is no single accepted etymology that covers all instances.

As a surname, Brou is found among people from Dutch-, French-, and Flemish-speaking communities. Surnames like this commonly originated as toponymic identifiers, referring to a person from a place named Brou, or as nicknames that were later inherited. The distribution of the surname often tracks historical migration and settlement patterns within Western Europe.

In encyclopedic usage, Brou is therefore treated as a word with multiple independent occurrences rather than as an English-language term with a single definition. When encountered in text, it is important to determine whether Brou refers to a geographic location, a family name, or a historical reference specific to a region.

Further information may be found by examining local toponymy records, genealogical databases, or regional dictionaries that list places and families bearing the name Brou. See also related names such as Bru, Brough, and Broux for comparative toponymic studies.