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

Choy, 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 Choy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Choy in America

Choy is the 6467th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Choy surname appeared 5,254 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Choy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Choy 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 Choy

The surname Choy originated in China, with its roots traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is believed to have derived from the Cantonese pronunciation of the Chinese surname 蔡 (Choi or Tsoi). This surname was initially associated with people residing in the Guangdong province of southern China.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the Choy surname appeared in historical records documenting notable scholars and officials. One such individual was Choy Yun-Wo, a renowned poet and calligrapher who lived from 1005 to 1064 AD.

The earliest recorded instance of the Choy surname can be found in the "Pu'an County Annals," a historical text dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). This record mentions a prominent figure named Choy Ting-Fung, who served as a magistrate in Pu'an County (now part of Guangdong province) during the 15th century.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, numerous Choy families emigrated from Guangdong to various parts of the world, including Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe. This diaspora contributed to the spread and recognition of the Choy surname globally.

One notable bearer of the Choy surname was Sir Shouson Chow (1861-1935), a prominent Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist. He was instrumental in the development of several public projects in the city, including the Shouson Hill area, which bears his name.

Another famous individual with the Choy surname was Wilbur Choy (1915-1986), an American architect renowned for his contributions to modern architecture in Hawaii. His notable works include the IBM Building in Honolulu and the Kahala Hilton Hotel.

In the realm of sports, Choy Ching-Man (born 1989) is a Hong Kong professional footballer who has represented the Hong Kong national team and played for various clubs in Asia.

The Choy surname has also been associated with several notable academics and intellectuals, such as Choy Kwok-Keung (born 1958), a distinguished professor of physics at the University of Hong Kong, and Choy Yuen-Sang (1919-2007), a highly respected educator and writer in Hong Kong.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Choy

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

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

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

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