2000
#2,254
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,838
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.50
Uncommon Last name
Hsu
A Chinese surname meaning "to allow" or "to promise," often referring to a pledge of loyalty or devotion.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,116 Americans carry the last name Hsu. That puts it at #1,915 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,232 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hsu 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 Hsu with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,232
Census rank
#1,915
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,414 bearers of the surname Hsu in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1915th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hsu, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and White (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hsu
The surname Hsu originated in China and is a romanized spelling of the Chinese surname 徐 (Xú). It is one of the most common surnames in China, with a long and storied history dating back to ancient times.
The name Xú can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC), when it was first used as a clan name. The character 徐 is thought to have derived from an ancient word meaning "to go slowly" or "to be deliberate," reflecting the virtues of patience and thoughtfulness that were valued in ancient Chinese culture.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Hsu can be found in the Classic of Poetry, one of the earliest existing collections of Chinese poetry and songs, dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. The name appears in several poems, indicating its widespread use among the nobility and literati of the time.
During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), a prominent figure named Hsu Xuan (647-729) was a celebrated scholar and calligrapher who served as an imperial tutor and played a significant role in the development of the guwen movement, which advocated for a return to the classical literary styles of ancient times.
In the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the Hsu family produced several notable individuals, including Hsu Jing (1091-1153), a prominent Neo-Confucian philosopher and scholar, and Hsu Chenghao (1050-1125), a renowned painter and calligrapher.
In more recent history, Hsu Shih-Ying (1910-1997) was a prominent Chinese diplomat and ambassador to several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. He played a crucial role in establishing diplomatic relations between China and Western nations in the post-World War II era.
Another notable figure is Hsu Chih-Mo (1918-1998), a Taiwanese writer and intellectual who was a leading figure in the modernist literary movement in Taiwan and a vocal advocate for democracy and human rights.
The Hsu surname has also been prominent in other parts of the world, including Taiwan, where it is one of the most common surnames. In the United States, notable individuals with the surname Hsu include Steven Chu (born 1948), a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and former United States Secretary of Energy under President Barack Obama.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hsu
Among Census respondents with the surname Hsu, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and White (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hsu 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 Hsu surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.2% · 16,972
- Two or more races3.9% · 727
- White2.8% · 517
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 156
- Black or African American0.2% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hsu
Hsu 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
#2,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,907
+2,069 bearers (+13.9%)
Per 100,000 5.73
Rank movement Up 107 places
2020
#1,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,414
+1,507 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 6.16
Rank movement Up 232 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,254 | 14,838 | 5.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,147 | 16,907 | 5.73 | +2,069 bearers (+13.9%) | Up 107 places |
| 2020 | #1,915 | 18,414 | 6.16 | +1,507 bearers (+8.9%) | Up 232 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 Hsu 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 | #2,147 | #1,915 | 10.8% |
| Count | 16,907 | 18,414 | 8.9% |
| Per 100K | 5.73 | 6.16 | 7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hsu bearers went from 16,907 to 18,414 (+8.9% change). The surname moved up 232 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,147 to #1,915.
FAQ
Hsu surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hsu?
Name Census estimates that about 21,116 living Americans carry the surname Hsu. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,232 residents.
How common is Hsu?
Hsu ranks #1,915 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,414 people with the surname Hsu. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Hsu.
Has Hsu become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hsu went from 16,907 recorded bearers to 18,414. That is an increase of 1,507 (+8.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,147 to #1,915.
What does the Census say about the background of Hsu?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hsu, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and White (2.8%). 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 Hsu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (16,972 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hsu appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.9%), White (2.8%). 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 Hsu (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 Hsu mean?
A Chinese surname meaning "to allow" or "to promise," often referring to a pledge of loyalty or devotion. 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 Hsu (6.16 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 Americans have the surname Hsu?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.