Choong last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Choong

An anglicized Chinese surname of Cantonese origin translating to "central" or "center".

Choong, 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 Choong surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Choong in America

Choong is the 67318th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Choong surname appeared 293 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Choong.

We can also compare 2010 data for Choong 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 67318 85996 -24.37%
Count 293 202 36.77%
Proportion per 100k 0.10 0.07 35.29%

The history of the last name Choong

The surname CHOONG originates from China, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is believed to be derived from the Chinese word "zhong," meaning "middle" or "central," suggesting that the name may have been associated with a family or individual who lived in the central region of China.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the CHOONG surname was particularly prevalent in the provinces of Sichuan and Guangdong. Records from this period indicate that several prominent scholars and officials bore this surname, including CHOONG Yizhi (1033-1107), a renowned Neo-Confucian philosopher and writer.

In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the CHOONG surname gained further prominence with the rise of CHOONG Xing (1639-1701), a celebrated poet and calligrapher who was a member of the influential Donglin Academy. His works and literary contributions helped establish the CHOONG name as one associated with intellectual and artistic excellence.

As the Chinese diaspora spread across Southeast Asia in later centuries, the CHOONG surname also took root in countries like Malaysia and Singapore. One notable figure from this region was CHOONG Chee Kuan (1903-1995), a prominent Malaysian politician and diplomat who served as the country's first High Commissioner to Australia.

In more recent history, the CHOONG surname has produced several accomplished individuals, such as CHOONG Tan Fook (1907-1981), a celebrated Singaporean architect who designed iconic buildings like the former Supreme Court and City Hall in Singapore, and CHOONG Sin Sen (1929-2019), a renowned Malaysian badminton player and coach who helped shape the sport's development in the region.

Other notable individuals with the CHOONG surname include CHOONG Weng Wai (1917-1997), a Malaysian businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to education and community development, and CHOONG Shin Yeong (1986-), a South Korean professional basketball player who has represented his country in international competitions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Choong

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

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 Choong was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 4.44% 13
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 89.42% 262
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 4.10% 12
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 4.44% 5.94% -28.90%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 89.42% 89.60% -0.20%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 4.10% 3.47% 16.64%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Choong, 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!

"Choong last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 13, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/choong-surname-popularity/.

"Choong last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/choong-surname-popularity/. Accessed 13 December, 2024

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

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