2000
#13,067
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,149
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Choudhury
A surname of Indian origin, referring to the holder of the position of a top-ranking official or administrator.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,770 Americans carry the last name Choudhury. That puts it at #6,483 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,403 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Choudhury 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 Choudhury with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.8K
1 in 59,403
Census rank
#6,483
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,032 bearers of the surname Choudhury in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6483rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Choudhury, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Choudhury
Among Census respondents with the surname Choudhury, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Choudhury 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 Choudhury surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.7% · 4,713
- White2.6% · 129
- Two or more races2.2% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 52
- Black or African American0.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Choudhury
Choudhury 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
#9,226
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,530
+1,381 bearers (+64.3%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Up 3,841 places
2020
#6,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,032
+1,502 bearers (+42.5%)
Per 100,000 1.68
Rank movement Up 2,743 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,067 | 2,149 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,226 | 3,530 | 1.20 | +1,381 bearers (+64.3%) | Up 3,841 places |
| 2020 | #6,483 | 5,032 | 1.68 | +1,502 bearers (+42.5%) | Up 2,743 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 Choudhury 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 | #9,226 | #6,483 | 29.7% |
| Count | 3,530 | 5,032 | 42.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.20 | 1.68 | 40.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Choudhury bearers went from 3,530 to 5,032 (+42.5% change). The surname moved up 2,743 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,226 to #6,483.
FAQ
Choudhury surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Choudhury?
Name Census estimates that about 5,770 living Americans carry the surname Choudhury. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,403 residents.
How common is Choudhury?
Choudhury ranks #6,483 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,032 people with the surname Choudhury. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,770), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Choudhury.
Has Choudhury become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Choudhury went from 3,530 recorded bearers to 5,032. That is an increase of 1,502 (+42.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,226 to #6,483.
What does the Census say about the background of Choudhury?
Among Census respondents with the surname Choudhury, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Choudhury in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (4,713 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Choudhury appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (93.7%), White (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Choudhury (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 Choudhury mean?
A surname of Indian origin, referring to the holder of the position of a top-ranking official or administrator. 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 Choudhury (1.68 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 Choudhury?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Choudhury on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.