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

Chin, 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 Chin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chin in America

Chin is the 1279th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chin surname appeared 27,487 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 9 people would have the surname Chin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chin 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 Chin

The surname CHIN has its origins in China, where it is a romanized version of the Chinese surname 陈 (Chén). This surname can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), making it one of the oldest and most prominent Chinese surnames.

The earliest recorded instances of the CHIN surname can be found in historical texts and records from the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046–256 BC). During this period, the name was associated with various noble families and scholars, including Chen Sheng, a renowned leader of the Dazexiang Uprising, which played a crucial role in the downfall of the Qin Dynasty.

In the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), the CHIN surname gained further prominence with notable figures such as Chen Zi'ang (661–702 AD), a renowned poet and calligrapher, and Chen Guangrui (723–815 AD), a famous military strategist who served under the Tang emperor Dezong.

As the surname spread across China, regional variations and dialectal pronunciations led to alternative spellings, including Chan, Tan, and Tran. These variations are particularly common in the southern regions of China and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the CHIN surname outside of China can be found in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) in Japan, where it was associated with Chinese immigrants and traders who settled in the country.

Notable historical figures bearing the CHIN surname include Chen Hongshou (1599–1652), a renowned painter and calligrapher during the Ming Dynasty, and Chen Qingying (1637–1687), a celebrated dramatist and poet of the Qing Dynasty.

In more recent history, the CHIN surname has been carried by influential individuals such as Chen Duxiu (1879–1942), a prominent figure in the Chinese Communist Movement, and Chen Kenichi (1912–1995), a renowned Japanese-American architect and designer.

It is important to note that while the CHIN surname has a rich history dating back thousands of years, its prevalence and geographic distribution have evolved over time due to migration patterns, cultural exchange, and societal changes.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chin

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

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

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

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