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

Chua, 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 Chua surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chua in America

Chua is the 7702nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chua surname appeared 4,309 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 Chua.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chua 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 Chua

The surname Chua is believed to have originated from China. It is a Chinese family name that can be traced back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) in the regions of Guangdong and Fujian provinces. The name is thought to be derived from the Chinese word "chua," which means "ancestral" or "ancestral hall."

In ancient Chinese records, the name Chua first appeared in the form of "Chu" or "Chu'a," which was a common surname among the Chinese population in the southern coastal regions. It is believed that the name may have evolved from the place name "Chuzhou," a city located in the eastern part of Anhui Province.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chua can be found in the "Pu Wen Yun Fu," a Chinese rhyming dictionary compiled during the Song Dynasty. This text includes the surname Chua, suggesting its widespread use during that period.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Chua. One of the earliest examples is Chua Si-Min (1368-1644), a renowned Chinese philosopher and scholar during the Ming Dynasty. Another notable figure was Chua Lam (1677-1741), a Qing Dynasty poet and calligrapher from Guangdong Province.

During the 19th century, the name Chua gained prominence with individuals like Chua Ek Kay (1805-1878), a successful businessman and philanthropist in Singapore. Another notable figure was Chua Soo Bin (1876-1936), a Chinese revolutionary and political activist who played a role in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911.

In more recent times, the name Chua has been associated with individuals such as Chua Thian Poh (1913-2008), a prominent Singaporean businessman and community leader, and Chua Lam (1942-2020), a renowned Chinese-American architect and urban planner.

While the surname Chua has its roots in ancient China, it has spread to other parts of the world, particularly in Southeast Asian countries with significant Chinese diasporas, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chua

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

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

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

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