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

Choo, 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 Choo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Choo in America

Choo is the 15964th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Choo surname appeared 1,819 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 Choo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Choo 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 Choo

The surname CHOO is of Chinese origin, traced back to the southern regions of China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is believed to have derived from the Chinese words "chu" or "choo," which referred to a specific geographic area or dialect.

One of the earliest recorded references to the CHOO surname can be found in the imperial archives of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), where it was documented as a prominent family name in the Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

In the 13th century, during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), a notable scholar named CHOO Tzu-yuen (1265-1330) gained recognition for his contributions to Neo-Confucian philosophy. His influential works became widely studied and helped solidify the CHOO surname's significance in Chinese history.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the CHOO family produced several prominent figures, including CHOO Hung (1535-1615), a renowned painter and calligrapher, and CHOO Cheng-hsun (1593-1670), a respected military strategist and statesman.

As Chinese migration increased in the 18th and 19th centuries, the CHOO surname spread to various parts of Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Singapore. One notable figure from this period was CHOO Cheng-Eok (1824-1900), a successful businessman and philanthropist in British Malaya.

In more recent history, the CHOO surname has gained global recognition through the acclaimed fashion designer Jimmy CHOO (born 1961), whose eponymous luxury brand is renowned for its stylish footwear and accessories.

Other notable individuals with the CHOO surname include CHOO Cheng-Kyere (1929-2018), a respected Ghanaian statesman and diplomat, and CHOO Kwang-ho (born 1958), a South Korean actor and director known for his work in television and film.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Choo

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

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

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

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