2000
#17,813
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,449
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.54
Rare Last name
Choo
A Chinese surname that can be traced back to several different sources.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,287 Americans carry the last name Choo. That puts it at #14,424 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,871 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Choo 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 Choo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 149,871
Census rank
#14,424
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,994 bearers of the surname Choo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14424th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Choo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and White (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Choo
Among Census respondents with the surname Choo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and White (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Choo 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 Choo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.2% · 1,719
- Two or more races6.3% · 126
- White4.5% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 52
- Black or African American0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Choo
Choo 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
#15,964
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,819
+370 bearers (+25.5%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Up 1,849 places
2020
#14,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,994
+175 bearers (+9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 1,540 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,813 | 1,449 | 0.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,964 | 1,819 | 0.62 | +370 bearers (+25.5%) | Up 1,849 places |
| 2020 | #14,424 | 1,994 | 0.67 | +175 bearers (+9.6%) | Up 1,540 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 Choo 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 | #15,964 | #14,424 | 9.6% |
| Count | 1,819 | 1,994 | 9.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.67 | 7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Choo bearers went from 1,819 to 1,994 (+9.6% change). The surname moved up 1,540 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,964 to #14,424.
FAQ
Choo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Choo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,287 living Americans carry the surname Choo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,871 residents.
How common is Choo?
Choo ranks #14,424 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,994 people with the surname Choo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,287), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Choo.
Has Choo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Choo went from 1,819 recorded bearers to 1,994. That is an increase of 175 (+9.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,964 to #14,424.
What does the Census say about the background of Choo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Choo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and White (4.5%). 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 Choo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (1,719 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Choo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (86.2%), Two or More Races (6.3%), White (4.5%). 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 Choo (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 Choo mean?
A Chinese surname that can be traced back to several different sources. 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 Choo (0.67 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 Choo?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Choo at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.