2000
#2,920
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,321
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.20
Uncommon Last name
Chiu
A Chinese surname meaning "autumn" or referring to the ancient state of Zhao in present-day Hebei province.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,694 Americans carry the last name Chiu. That puts it at #2,580 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,840 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chiu 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Chiu with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,840
Census rank
#2,580
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,686 bearers of the surname Chiu in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2580th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chiu, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and White (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chiu
The surname CHIU has its origins in China, tracing back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is a romanized spelling of the Chinese characters 邱, which were originally pronounced as "Qiu" in Mandarin. This name is thought to have derived from an old Chinese word meaning "hill" or "mound", indicating that the earliest bearers of this surname may have lived near or on a hill.
The CHIU surname is particularly prevalent in the southern regions of China, such as Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan provinces. It is also found in significant numbers among Chinese communities in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, owing to historical migration patterns.
One of the earliest records of the CHIU surname can be found in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) genealogical records, where it is listed among the prestigious families of the time. However, there are no known references to this name in ancient texts like the Domesday Book or other medieval European manuscripts.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the CHIU surname was Qiu Cun (1508-1594), a renowned Confucian scholar and philosopher during the Ming Dynasty. Another notable figure was Qiu Fengjia (1864-1912), a prominent military leader and revolutionary who played a significant role in the Xinhai Revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty.
In more recent history, Qiu Qingquan (1919-2022) was a celebrated Chinese mathematician and educator, known for his contributions to the field of partial differential equations. Qiu Xiaolong (born 1953) is a contemporary Chinese-American author, best known for his Inspector Chen crime novel series set in Shanghai.
Qiu Jin (1875-1907), also known as the "Chinese Joan of Arc", was a pioneering feminist and revolutionary who fought for women's rights and played a crucial role in the Xinhai Revolution. She was executed by the Qing government for her activism.
It is important to note that while the CHIU surname has a long and rich history in China, it is not as widely documented in Western historical records due to the geographical and cultural barriers that existed between East and West in earlier times.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chiu
Among Census respondents with the surname Chiu, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and White (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Chiu 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 Chiu surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.5% · 12,386
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 440
- White3.1% · 431
- Two or more races3.0% · 412
- Black or African American0.1% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chiu
Chiu appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,735
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,174
+1,853 bearers (+16.4%)
Per 100,000 4.47
Rank movement Up 185 places
2020
#2,580
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,686
+512 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 4.58
Rank movement Up 155 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,920 | 11,321 | 4.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,735 | 13,174 | 4.47 | +1,853 bearers (+16.4%) | Up 185 places |
| 2020 | #2,580 | 13,686 | 4.58 | +512 bearers (+3.9%) | Up 155 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 Chiu 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 | #2,735 | #2,580 | 5.7% |
| Count | 13,174 | 13,686 | 3.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.47 | 4.58 | 2.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chiu bearers went from 13,174 to 13,686 (+3.9% change). The surname moved up 155 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,735 to #2,580.
FAQ
Chiu surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chiu?
Name Census estimates that about 15,694 living Americans carry the surname Chiu. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,840 residents.
How common is Chiu?
Chiu ranks #2,580 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,686 people with the surname Chiu. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,694), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Chiu.
Has Chiu become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chiu went from 13,174 recorded bearers to 13,686. That is an increase of 512 (+3.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,735 to #2,580.
What does the Census say about the background of Chiu?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chiu, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and White (3.1%). 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 Chiu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (12,386 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chiu appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (90.5%), Hispanic (3.2%), White (3.1%). 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 Chiu (2000, 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 Chiu mean?
A Chinese surname meaning "autumn" or referring to the ancient state of Zhao in present-day Hebei province. 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 Chiu (4.58 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 are called Chiu?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Chiu, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.