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

Che, 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 Che surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Che in America

Che is the 12865th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Che surname appeared 2,393 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 Che.

We can also compare 2010 data for Che 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 Che

The surname Che has its origins in Italy, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "chè," which is a contraction of the phrase "che è" meaning "what is." This suggests that the name may have originally been a nickname or a descriptive term.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Che was Giovanni Che, a merchant from the city of Genoa, who lived in the late 14th century. Records from this time period indicate that he was involved in the lucrative trade between Italy and the Byzantine Empire.

In the 15th century, the Che family was prominent in the city of Florence, and their name can be found in various historical documents and records from that era. Notably, a certain Giulio Che was a respected philosopher and scholar who wrote extensively on the works of Aristotle.

The Che surname also has ties to the town of Ché, located in the province of Pavia, in northern Italy. It is possible that some branches of the Che family originated from this place and took the town's name as their surname.

A notable figure bearing the Che surname was Guido Che (1450-1517), a renowned architect from Milan who was responsible for the design and construction of several significant buildings, including the Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore.

In the 18th century, the Che family gained prominence in the field of medicine, with Giuseppe Che (1725-1802) being a highly respected physician and professor at the University of Padua. His contributions to the study of anatomy and physiology were widely recognized during his lifetime.

Another individual of note was Ernesto Che (1820-1892), a Italian politician and statesman who served as the Mayor of Rome from 1870 to 1876. He played a crucial role in the city's development and modernization following the unification of Italy.

While the Che surname has its roots in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including South America, where it gained particular prominence through the famous revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928-1967), although his first name was not a surname but a nickname derived from his Argentine Spanish pronunciation of the word "che."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Che

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

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 Che 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 Che 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 Che was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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