Jou is a parish of the municipality of Murça, Vila Real District, in northeast Portugal. The population in 2011 was 654,Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Census 2011 results according to the 2013 administrative division of Portugal in an area of 37.29 km2.
Toponymy The name Jou is of uncertain origin. Portuguese linguist José-Pedro Machado, proposed a plausible Latin genitive case in Jovis, meaning «relating to Jupiter (the deity)». During Roman times, large deposits of tin were mined in this region - historically a metal considered sacred when venerating the Roman god Jupiter.
References