WEB劉 / 刘 (/ lj oʊ / or / lj uː /) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: Liú in Mandarin Chinese, Lau 4 in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character 劉 originally meant 'battle axe', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text Hundred Family Surnames. Today, it is the 4th most ...