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

Tseng, 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 Tseng surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tseng in America

Tseng is the 6751st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tseng surname appeared 4,994 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Tseng.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tseng 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 Tseng

The surname Tseng originates from China, with its roots dating back to ancient times. It is a Chinese transliteration of the Mandarin Chinese surname 曾, which is pronounced as "Tseng" or "Zeng" in different dialects. This surname has a long and rich history intertwined with Chinese culture and society.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Tseng can be found in the Shiji, a monumental historical record written by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC. In this work, Sima Qian mentions individuals with the surname Tseng, indicating its widespread use during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD).

The surname Tseng is believed to have originated from the ancient state of Tseng, located in what is now Henan Province, during the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC - 256 BC). This state was ruled by the noble Tseng family, whose descendants adopted the surname as a mark of their lineage and heritage.

Throughout Chinese history, there have been numerous notable figures bearing the surname Tseng. One of the most renowned was Tseng Guo-fan (1811-1872), a prominent military leader and statesman during the late Qing Dynasty. He played a crucial role in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, one of the bloodiest civil wars in human history.

Another famous individual with the surname Tseng was Tseng Kuo-ch'uan (1891-1982), a celebrated writer and scholar who made significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of Chinese literature and culture. His works, including the acclaimed novel "The Crimson Pearl" (紅珊珊), have left an indelible mark on Chinese literary tradition.

In the field of philosophy, Tseng Ts'an (195-265 AD), a prominent Taoist thinker and author during the Wei and Jin dynasties, is renowned for his influential work "Ts'an-t'ung-ch'i" (The Uniting of the Three Paths). This text explored the harmonization of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, shaping the intellectual discourse of his era.

Tseng Chung-ming (1842-1918), a prominent diplomat and statesman, played a pivotal role in modernizing China's foreign relations during the late Qing Dynasty. He served as the first Chinese envoy to the United States and was instrumental in negotiating treaties and fostering international cooperation.

In modern times, the surname Tseng has continued to be associated with notable figures, such as Tseng Yu-hsien (1924-2017), a renowned Taiwanese writer and scholar whose works explored themes of identity, culture, and modernity in Taiwan.

The surname Tseng has a rich and diverse history, spanning centuries of Chinese civilization. From military leaders and statesmen to writers, philosophers, and diplomats, individuals bearing this surname have left an indelible mark on various aspects of Chinese culture, politics, and intellectual life.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tseng

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!