2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Cihon
A Slavic surname derived from the Persian word for "river".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Cihon. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cihon 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.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Cihon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cihon, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cihon
The surname CIHON has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the region of modern-day Poland and Ukraine. It likely emerged sometime in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Old Slavic word "tsihon," which referred to a small stream or rivulet.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the CIHON surname can be found in a Polish tax register from the year 1487, where a certain Jan Cihon is listed as a landowner in the village of Kozlów. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 15th century, at least among the Polish nobility and landowners.
In the 16th century, a famous Polish cartographer named Wacław Cihon created a series of detailed maps of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which were widely used throughout Europe. Wacław Cihon was born in 1523 in the town of Sandomierz and died in 1587.
Another notable figure bearing the CIHON surname was Maciej Cihon, a Polish military commander who fought in the Polish-Muscovite War of 1609-1618. Maciej Cihon was born in 1567 and died in 1625 during the siege of the city of Kremenchuk.
In the 18th century, a Russian explorer named Yefim Cihon was part of the Great Northern Expedition, a series of expeditions organized by the Russian Empire to explore and map the Arctic regions of Siberia. Yefim Cihon was born in 1701 and died in 1777.
Moving into the 19th century, a Polish writer and poet named Karol Cihon gained recognition for his works celebrating Polish national identity and the struggle for independence. Karol Cihon was born in 1818 in the city of Lviv (then part of the Austrian Empire) and died in 1892.
While the CIHON surname has its roots in Eastern Europe, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the name remains most prevalent in Poland, Ukraine, and other Slavic countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cihon
Among Census respondents with the surname Cihon, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cihon 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 Cihon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 108
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cihon
Cihon 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+5 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,227 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-13 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,072 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 4,227 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 13,072 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 Cihon 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 | #135,593 | #148,665 | -9.6% |
| Count | 124 | 111 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cihon bearers went from 124 to 111 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 13,072 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #148,665.
FAQ
Cihon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cihon?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Cihon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Cihon?
Cihon ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Cihon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Cihon.
Has Cihon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cihon went from 124 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Cihon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cihon, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cihon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cihon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Two or More Races (1.8%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Cihon (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 Cihon mean?
A Slavic surname derived from the Persian word for "river". 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 Cihon (0.04 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 common is the surname Cihon?
You can see how common the surname Cihon is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.