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

Cui, 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 Cui surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cui in America

Cui is the 9251st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cui surname appeared 3,520 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 Cui.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cui 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 Cui

The surname Cui is believed to have originated in China, with roots dating back to the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070 BC–c. 1600 BC). It is derived from the ancient Chinese word "cui," which means "emerald" or "green jade," and was likely originally a descriptive name given to someone who worked with or had an affinity for jade.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Cui can be found in the Shiji, a monumental historical text written by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC. The Shiji mentions several individuals with the surname Cui, including Cui Zhouping, a powerful minister during the Warring States period (475–221 BC).

During the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), the name Cui gained prominence, with several notable figures bearing the surname. One of the most famous was Cui Bao (d. 450 AD), a renowned calligrapher and poet who served as a high-ranking official during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

In the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), the Cui family produced several influential poets and scholars, including Cui Hao (704–754 AD), a renowned poet and essayist, and Cui Rong (653–725 AD), a celebrated historian and author of the "Old Book of Tang."

The name Cui has also been associated with various place names throughout China's history. For instance, Cuizhou (formerly known as Cuixian) is a county in Hebei Province, and Cuihuang is a town in Zhejiang Province.

Among the notable Cui figures in more recent history are Cui Jian (born 1961), a pioneering rock musician and songwriter often referred to as the "Father of Chinese Rock"; Cui Zi'en (1904–1997), a prominent linguist and educator; and Cui Yuying (1904–1986), a celebrated actress and one of the "Four Great Dan Actresses" of Chinese opera.

While the surname Cui has its roots firmly planted in ancient Chinese history, it has since spread across the globe, with people of Chinese descent bearing this name found in many countries today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cui

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

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

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

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