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] and the older variant Atyeo [note 2].
This study also includes many other variants of the surname, which mainly arose in the period before widespread literacy [note 3].
We have also included people who:
– had Yeo or a variant as a forename, for example Benjamin Yeo Westaway, Yeo Avery, Yeo Simmons
– had Yeo or a variant as part of a hyphenated surname, for example Arthur Thomas Amos-Yeo, Frederick Hussey-Yeo, William Yeo-Edwards
– acquired the name Yeo or a variant by marriage
– changed their surname to Yeo or a variant, typically when their mother married or re-married [note 4].
The following variants have been excluded from 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; for England and Wales there are no accurate entries for Yoe in the 1911 or 1921 censuses or the 1939 Register (see ‘The surname variant Yoe in censuses for England and Wales’ under the ‘Research notes’ menu), and no births have been registered since 1979.
2. See The origin of the surname.
3. See Further surname variants.
4. For examples see A Yeo who was not a Yeo.