See the whole storyOrigin of my surname

The surname Zhou originates from the Ji surname. It comes from the descendants of King Ping of Zhou, Ji Yijiu, and is a surname derived from the name of a state. The progenitor of the Zhou clan was Ji Houji, the god of agriculture. He originally lived in Tai (southwest of present-day Wugong County, Shaanxi Province). The poem "Sheng Min" in the *Book of Songs* describes the birth of Ji Houji and his pioneering work in agriculture and establishing his family. Later, during the reign of Duke Gugong Ji Danfu, to escape attacks and incursions from western tribes, Duke Gugong led his people to migrate to the Zhouyuan region at the foot of Mount Qi (present-day Qishan County, Shaanxi Province), where they established a state. Because it was located in Zhouyuan, it was called the State of Zhou, and Duke Gugong was known as King Tai of Zhou. The main source of the Zhou surname is the descendants of King Ping of Zhou, Ji Yijiu, the last king of the Zhou Dynasty, who changed their surname to Zhou. In the 11th century BC, King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, overthrew the Shang Dynasty and established the Western Zhou Dynasty. In the eleventh year of King You of Zhou, Ji Gongnie (771 BC), the Marquis of Shen, in alliance with the Quanrong, attacked and killed King You, leading to the fall of the Western Zhou. After the fall of the Western Zhou, King Ping of Zhou, Ji Yijiu, ascended the throne and moved the capital to Luoyang, historically known as the Eastern Zhou. After the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was destroyed by King Zhaoxiang of Qin in the fifty-ninth year of King Hao of Zhou, Ji Yan (the forty-ninth year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Ying Ze, 256 BC), lasting a total of 866 years and encompassing 34 emperors. King Ping of Zhou, Ji Yijiu, had a son named Zhou Lie, who was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Rufen. By the time of Zhou Yong, his nineteenth-generation descendant, King Zhaoxiang of Qin destroyed the Zhou Dynasty. From then on, the Zhou family lost its marquisate, but its descendants continued, and many still used the name of the previous dynasty as their surname, becoming known as Zhou. With the establishment of the Han Dynasty, these former royal nobles restored the Zhou family's marquisate. Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, re-enfeoffed Zhou Yong's grandson, Zhou Ren, as the Marquis of Rufen, bestowed upon him the title of Duke Zheng, and moved him to Ancheng (present-day Wanggang Town, Runan County, Henan Province). From then on, the Zhou family, as a prominent clan in the Runan area, existed through the Han, Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang dynasties for over a thousand years, producing many famous figures in history.

Originating from the Ji surname, this lineage originated from members of the Ji clan during the Tang Dynasty, and was adopted as a surname to avoid a taboo. During the Xiantian, Kaiyuan, and Tianbao eras of the Tang Dynasty (712-756 AD), because Emperor Xuanzong's personal name was Li Longji, all members of the Ji clan in Chang'an were required to avoid using the surname "Ji" (because "Ji" and "Ji" are pronounced the same, and commoners' names could not be the same as the emperor's). Therefore, they all changed their surname to Zhou. Later, some members of this Zhou clan reverted to the Ji surname, but the majority have continued to use the Zhou surname to this day.