Chon last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Chon

A Korean surname derived from the Hanja character meaning "천" (sky or heaven).

Chon, 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 Chon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chon in America

Chon is the 8981st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chon surname appeared 3,643 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 Chon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chon 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 8981 7958 12.08%
Count 3,643 3,857 -5.71%
Proportion per 100k 1.24 1.43 -14.23%

The history of the last name Chon

The surname CHON has its origins in the Czech Republic, where it first emerged in the late 13th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Czech word "chon," which means "to hunt" or "to chase." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname were likely hunters or individuals involved in hunting-related activities.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the CHON surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus et Epistolaris Regni Bohemiae, a collection of medieval documents and manuscripts from the Kingdom of Bohemia, dating back to the year 1283. The name is mentioned in connection with a landowner named Jan CHON, who held property near the town of Plzen.

During the 15th century, the CHON surname appears to have spread to neighboring regions, including parts of Germany and Austria. Historical records from this period mention a nobleman named Heinrich CHON, who was born in 1427 in the town of Brno, which was then part of the Margraviate of Moravia.

In the 16th century, the CHON surname is documented in various municipal records and tax rolls across Bohemia and Moravia. One notable individual from this era was Vaclav CHON, a prominent merchant and landowner who lived in Prague between 1542 and 1612.

As the CHON surname continued to spread throughout Central Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Chone, Chönne, and Chonni. In the 18th century, a German philosopher and writer named Johann Gottlieb CHON (1736-1809) gained recognition for his works on ethics and moral philosophy.

Another notable bearer of the CHON surname was Karel CHON, a Czech military officer who served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1785 in the town of Olomouc and participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805.

It is worth noting that the CHON surname has also been associated with several place names in the Czech Republic and surrounding regions. For example, the village of Chonov in the Pilsen Region is believed to have derived its name from the CHON surname, indicating the possible presence of early settlers bearing this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chon

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

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 Chon was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 2.69% 98
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 90.28% 3,289
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.76% 64
Hispanic Origin 4.80% 175

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 Chon has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 2.69% 2.85% -5.78%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 90.28% 91.34% -1.17%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.76% 1.97% -11.26%
Hispanic 4.80% 3.34% 35.87%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Chon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 9, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/chon-surname-popularity/.

"Chon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/chon-surname-popularity/. Accessed 9 October, 2024

Chon last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/chon-surname-popularity/.

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