2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Chinapen
A surname thought to be derived from the Spanish "china" (corn) and "pen" (hill), denoting someone living near a corn hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Chinapen. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chinapen surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Chinapen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chinapen, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and White (12.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chinapen
Among Census respondents with the surname Chinapen, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and White (12.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Chinapen bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Chinapen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander59.0% · 62
- Black or African American14.3% · 15
- White12.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.7% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- Two or more races3.8% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chinapen
Chinapen appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-5 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,594 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 3,594 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Chinapen surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #149,395 | #152,989 | -2.4% |
| Count | 110 | 105 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chinapen bearers went from 110 to 105 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 3,594 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #152,989.
FAQ
Chinapen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chinapen?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Chinapen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Chinapen?
Chinapen ranks #152,989 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 105 people with the surname Chinapen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Chinapen.
Has Chinapen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chinapen went from 110 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Chinapen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chinapen, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and White (12.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Chinapen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.0% (62 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chinapen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (59.0%), Black (14.3%), White (12.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Chinapen (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Chinapen mean?
A surname thought to be derived from the Spanish "china" (corn) and "pen" (hill), denoting someone living near a corn hill. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Chinapen (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Chinapen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.