The surname Yeo is derived from an old word for stream or river, see The origin of the surname.
This study of the surname is registered with the Guild of One-name Studies and with The Surname Society. The registration with the Guild includes the variants Yea, Yaw and Yoe [note 1], also the includes the older variant Atyeo [note 2]. This study also includes several other variants of the surname, which mainly arose in the period before widespread literacy [note 3].
The following variants fall outside the scope of the study:
– The surnames Yoe and Yohe from Pennsylvania, which appear to be variants of an unrelated German surname – see Pennsylvania
– The surnames Yeo (sometimes written as Yang), Yeoh, Yee and Yaw found in families of Chinese and Korean origin in many parts of the world
– The forename Yaw from Ghana, often given to boys born on a Thursday
– The surname Yaw in Scotland
– The surname Yaw in the United States, which appears to be a variant of an unrelated German surname; see Germany?
– The surname Van Yea or Vanyea in the United States.
The surname Yeo in Mexico is included, but it might be a variant of a Spanish surname – see Mexico.
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Notes
1. The variant Yoe appears now to be very scarce; no births have been recorded since the late 1970s.
2. See The origin of the surname.
3. See Further surname variants.