GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 74

侯

侯 is read as hóu.

Pinyin

hóu

Script forms

Simplified and traditional 侯

Basic meaning

marquis; noble title

Five element

Water

Origin

Time: Zhou feudal-title traditions; Zhou feudal-title tradition, 1046-256 BCE

Place: Multiple Zhou-state noble lineages across the central plains

Origin note

Hou is closely tied to the Zhou noble title hou, often translated marquis. Some descendants of titled nobles or people connected with a Hou lineage used Hou as a surname. The page presents it as a title surname rather than one single birthplace.

Historical figures

侯景 (Hou Jing)

503-552 CE · military rebel

A key figure in the Hou Jing rebellion of the Liang dynasty.

侯方域 (Hou Fangyu)

1618-1655 CE · late Ming and early Qing writer

A writer associated with the Fushe literary world.

Sources checked