Yau

Yau is a surname of Chinese origin, most commonly found among Cantonese-speaking communities. The spelling represents several different Chinese surnames depending on the character and dialect, and is especially common in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong province, and across the Chinese diaspora. In romanization, Yau can correspond to characters such as 邱, 游, or 姚, among others, though the exact character is not always indicated in everyday usage.

Notable individuals with the surname include Shing-Tung Yau (born 1949), a Chinese-American mathematician and Fields Medalist recognized for foundational work in differential geometry; and Yau Wai-ching, a Hong Kong politician who rose to prominence during the 2016 oath-taking controversy. In science, the surname is linked to the Calabi–Yau manifolds, a class of complex spaces named for Eugenio Calabi and Shing-Tung Yau, which play a central role in string theory and mirror symmetry.

Variant spellings and romanization reflect the surname's Cantonese roots and other dialects. Depending on system, the same surname may appear as Chau, Chiu, You, or Yao in English-language texts. The name Yau thus marks a transnational heritage with widespread presence in Asia and the global Chinese diaspora.