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

Kieu, 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 Kieu surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kieu in America

Kieu is the 23397th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kieu surname appeared 1,087 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kieu.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kieu 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 Kieu

The surname Kieu originates from Vietnam and is a variation of the Vietnamese name Kiều, which is derived from the ancient Sino-Vietnamese word 翘 meaning "to raise" or "to be alert". The name has been in use in Vietnam for several centuries and is believed to have first appeared in the 15th century during the Later Le dynasty (1428-1788).

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Kieu can be found in the famous Vietnamese epic poem "The Tale of Kieu" (Truyện Kiều) written by Nguyen Du in 1820. This literary masterpiece tells the story of a young woman named Kieu who endures numerous hardships and sacrifices for the sake of her family.

In the 19th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Kieu was Kieu Cong Hau (1838-1909), a Vietnamese military leader and one of the key figures in the resistance against French colonialism in the late 19th century.

Another prominent individual with the surname Kieu was Kieu Cong Cung (1890-1939), a Vietnamese revolutionary and one of the founders of the Indochinese Communist Party (later known as the Communist Party of Vietnam).

During the 20th century, the name Kieu gained further recognition with individuals such as Kieu Chinh (1942-), a Vietnamese-American actress known for her roles in films like "The Green Berets" and "Joy Luck Club".

Kieu Van Vuong (1903-1969) was a Vietnamese politician and diplomat who served as the President of the State of Vietnam from 1964 to 1967.

In more recent times, Kieu Chinh (1962-) is a Vietnamese-American author and activist who has written extensively about the experiences of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants.

While the surname Kieu is primarily found in Vietnam, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots and historical significance remain deeply intertwined with Vietnamese culture and literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kieu

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

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

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

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