Find out how popular the last name Chae is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Chae.

Chae, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Chae surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chae in America

Chae is the 11914th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chae surname appeared 2,628 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Chae.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chae to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Chae

The surname CHAE has its origins in Korea, and is believed to have first emerged in the 7th century during the Silla Kingdom. It is derived from the Korean word "chae", which means "wealth" or "prosperity". The name was likely given to families or individuals who were considered prosperous or financially successful.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name CHAE can be found in the "Samguk Sagi", a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which was compiled in the 12th century. The record mentions a noble family with the surname CHAE who held prominent positions in the royal court of the Silla Kingdom.

During the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), the CHAE surname gained further prominence, with several members of the family serving as high-ranking officials and military leaders. One notable figure from this period was Chae Chung-yeong (1330-1389), a renowned Neo-Confucian scholar and philosopher.

In the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), the CHAE surname continued to be associated with scholarly and literary accomplishments. Chae Je-gong (1562-1637) was a respected writer and poet who served as a royal historian during the reign of King Seonjo.

Another prominent figure with the CHAE surname was Chae Yun-shik (1890-1936), a leading independence activist who fought against Japanese colonial rule in Korea. He was executed by the Japanese authorities for his involvement in the Korean independence movement.

Over the centuries, variations of the CHAE surname emerged, such as Chai, Chey, and Che. These variations often reflected regional dialects or preferences in spelling and pronunciation.

While the surname CHAE is primarily associated with Korea, it has also been found in other parts of Asia, including China and Japan, where it is sometimes spelled as "Zhai" or "Sai" respectively. However, the origins and meanings of these variations may differ from the Korean CHAE surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chae

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Chae.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Chae was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Chae has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Chae was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Chae, please contact us.

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