2000
#30,614
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 719
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.27
Rare Last name
Choudhary
A surname referring to an aristocratic lineage from northern India and Pakistan.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,431 Americans carry the last name Choudhary. That puts it at #10,248 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,899 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Choudhary 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 Choudhary with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 99,899
Census rank
#10,248
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,992 bearers of the surname Choudhary in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10248th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Choudhary, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Choudhary
The surname Choudhary originated from the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the northern regions of India and Pakistan. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Chaudhari," which means "leader" or "headman" of a village or a larger territory. This surname has a long history dating back to ancient times when it was used to denote the chief or the head of a particular area or community.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Choudhary can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures and historical texts, where it was mentioned as a title or a designation for local leaders and administrators. Over time, the title became hereditary, and it transformed into a surname that was passed down from generation to generation.
One of the earliest known references to the name Choudhary can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century administrative document written during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It mentions several individuals with the surname Choudhary who held prominent positions in the imperial administration.
During the medieval period, the Choudhary surname was particularly prevalent among the Rajput clans of northern India. Many Rajput rulers and warriors bore this surname, including Maharaja Choudhary Harbans Lal (1735-1789), who ruled the princely state of Jaipur in the 18th century.
Another notable individual with the Choudhary surname was Devi Datt Choudhary (1822-1894), a renowned Indian scholar and writer who made significant contributions to the field of Hindi literature. He authored several books and translations, and his works played a crucial role in the promotion and preservation of the Hindi language.
In the modern era, one of the most famous individuals with the Choudhary surname is Sir Chaudhary Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938), a renowned philosopher, poet, and politician from British India. He is widely regarded as the spiritual father of Pakistan and is celebrated for his literary works, including the famous "Shikwa" and "Khizr-e-Rah."
Other notable individuals with the Choudhary surname include Jagjit Singh Choudhary (1938-2011), a legendary Indian ghazal singer who popularized the genre both in India and abroad, and Anuja Choudhary, an Indian film actress known for her roles in several Bollywood and regional language films.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Choudhary
Among Census respondents with the surname Choudhary, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Choudhary 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 Choudhary surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.5% · 2,767
- White3.8% · 114
- Two or more races2.4% · 73
- Black or African American0.6% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Choudhary
Choudhary 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
#18,262
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,521
+802 bearers (+111.5%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Up 12,352 places
2020
#10,248
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,992
+1,471 bearers (+96.7%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Up 8,014 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #30,614 | 719 | 0.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,262 | 1,521 | 0.52 | +802 bearers (+111.5%) | Up 12,352 places |
| 2020 | #10,248 | 2,992 | 1.00 | +1,471 bearers (+96.7%) | Up 8,014 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 Choudhary 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 | #18,262 | #10,248 | 43.9% |
| Count | 1,521 | 2,992 | 96.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.52 | 1.00 | 92.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Choudhary bearers went from 1,521 to 2,992 (+96.7% change). The surname moved up 8,014 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,262 to #10,248.
FAQ
Choudhary surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Choudhary?
Name Census estimates that about 3,431 living Americans carry the surname Choudhary. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,899 residents.
How common is Choudhary?
Choudhary ranks #10,248 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,992 people with the surname Choudhary. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,431), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Choudhary.
Has Choudhary become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Choudhary went from 1,521 recorded bearers to 2,992. That is an increase of 1,471 (+96.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #18,262 to #10,248.
What does the Census say about the background of Choudhary?
Among Census respondents with the surname Choudhary, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Choudhary in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (2,767 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Choudhary appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (92.5%), White (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Choudhary (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 Choudhary mean?
A surname referring to an aristocratic lineage from northern India and Pakistan. 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 Choudhary (1.00 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 Choudhary?
Find out how many people have the last name Choudhary on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.