# Cham (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/cham/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Chinese surname from Hokkien.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,124 |
| US rank (2010) | 22,791 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 274,685 people |
| Change since 2000 | +51% (744 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Hokkien 詹 (Chiam).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Cham in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 7.6% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 49% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 9.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 31% |

## Similar surnames

Chum, Chan, Chaney, Chain, Cam, Camm, Chen, Cohen, Cain, Conway, Cano, Cowan.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.