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

Choudhury, 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 Choudhury surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Choudhury in America

Choudhury is the 9226th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Choudhury surname appeared 3,530 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 Choudhury.

We can also compare 2010 data for Choudhury 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 Choudhury

The surname Choudhury traces its origins to Bengal, a region that encompasses the present-day nations of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "Chaudhuree," which means a landholder or an affluent individual who collected revenue on behalf of the ruling authorities during ancient times.

The Choudhurys were influential zamindars (landlords) and played a significant role in the socio-economic fabric of Bengal during the medieval and colonial periods. The name is believed to have emerged around the 11th century, during the reign of the Pala Empire, which ruled over parts of the Indian subcontinent.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Choudhury can be found in the "Ain-i-Akbari," a 16th-century Persian chronicle written during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The text mentions several Choudhury families who held significant landholdings and administrative positions in Bengal.

In the 17th century, the Choudhurys of Burdwan, a prominent zamindar family, gained prominence in Bengal. The family's ancestral homeland was Burdwan, a town located in the present-day Indian state of West Bengal. Notable members of the Burdwan Choudhury family included Rajah Raj Bullub Choudhury (1768-1829), who played a crucial role in the establishment of the Hindu College in Calcutta (now Kolkata).

Another notable figure was Sir Khwaja Nazim-ud-Din Choudhury (1834-1907), a prominent lawyer, politician, and social reformer from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was instrumental in establishing the Dhaka Nawab Family and was knighted by the British government for his contributions.

In the 20th century, Sir Ashutosh Choudhury (1864-1923) was a renowned educator, jurist, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta. He played a pivotal role in the Calcutta University Commission of 1917-1919 and was knighted for his services to education.

Other prominent individuals with the surname Choudhury include Abul Fazal Choudhury (1897-1953), a renowned Bengali writer and poet, and Syed Muazzem Ali Choudhury (1906-1989), a distinguished diplomat and jurist from Bangladesh who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

While the Choudhury surname is primarily associated with Bengal, it has also been adopted by various communities and regions across South Asia, reflecting the rich cultural diversity and historical connections within the subcontinent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Choudhury

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

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

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

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