Entry № 2647 · Chinese origin

Youyou Youyou — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ YOH-yoh /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Chinese
Meaning
"Cry of the deer (Tu Youyou, Nobel Prize chemist)"
Syllables
2
Rank · US 2025
№ 0
First recorded
Modern (Chinese)

A name that means "cry of the deer (tu youyou, nobel prize chemist)".

Youyou (呦呦) is from the *Book of Songs* (*Shijing*) — the cry of the deer eating wild herbs in the field. **Tu Youyou (born 1930)** is the **Chinese pharmacologist who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine** for discovering **artemisinin** — the antimalarial drug derived from sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) that has saved millions of lives. **The first Chinese mainland scientist to win a Nobel Prize in a science category, and the first female Chinese Nobel laureate.**

Her parents chose her name from the deer's cry in the ancient hymn.

Cry of the deer. The first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize in a science category.

The name in its native script.

呦呦
Transliteration
Yōuyōu
Pronunciation
/ ˈjoʊ.joʊ /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Youyou stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 0 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 0 in 0
Babies named Youyou · last year
87 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
0
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · — NOW · —

Youyous before her.

Real people
Tu Youyou
2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
born 1930
In fiction
Youyou
Common modern Chinese name.

Names connected to Youyou.

The number behind Youyou.

5

The Free Spirit

Youyou reduces to five — the number of Nobel laureate.

Why families chose this name.

"Chinese Nobel laureate. Six letters. Youyou."
Lily · Mother of one · Beijing