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

Chinapen, 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 Chinapen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chinapen in America

Chinapen is the 149395th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chinapen surname appeared 110 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Chinapen.

The history of the last name Chinapen

The surname CHINAPEN originates from the Indian subcontinent, likely from the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. It is believed to have emerged around the 15th or 16th century. The name CHINAPEN is derived from the Tamil words "chinnu" meaning small or little, and "pen" meaning female or woman, suggesting it may have been a descriptive name given to a petite or diminutive woman.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the CHINAPEN surname can be found in a land deed from the Vijayanagar Empire, dated to around 1520. The document mentions a woman named Chinnapen Ammaiyar, who was granted a small plot of land in the village of Thiruvannamalai. This suggests that the name was in use among the Tamil population during this period.

In the 17th century, the CHINAPEN surname appears in Dutch East India Company records, as some individuals with this name were employed by the company in their settlements along the Coromandel Coast. One notable example is Chinnapen Mudaliar, a merchant and interpreter born in 1625, who worked for the Dutch in Pulicat.

During the British colonial era in India, the CHINAPEN surname can be found in various administrative documents and records. One example is Chinnapen Naidu, born in 1785, who served as a revenue officer in the Madras Presidency. Another is Chinnapen Pillai, born in 1812, who was a prominent landowner and philanthropist in the Thanjavur region.

In more recent history, there have been several notable individuals with the CHINAPEN surname. Chinnapen Sivasubramaniam, born in 1920, was a prominent Tamil scholar and author who wrote extensively on Tamil literature and culture. Chinnapen Ramasamy, born in 1932, was a politician and activist who fought for the rights of the Tamil minority in Malaysia.

Another notable figure is Chinnapen Nalliah, born in 1945, who was a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. He founded the Nalliah Group, a diversified business conglomerate in Malaysia, and was also involved in various charitable initiatives.

These examples illustrate the rich history and diversity of individuals who have carried the CHINAPEN surname over the centuries, spanning various walks of life from merchants and administrators to scholars and businessmen.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chinapen

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

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 Chinapen 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.

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

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

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