How common is the surname Chew?

8,905 people in the United States had the surname Chew in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 34,671 Americans. It ranked 3,988th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Chew?

Geoffrey Chew, American theoretical physicist (1924–2019), followed by Phillip Chew.

Where is the surname Chew most common?

Wikidata records people named Chew in the United States.

Is the surname Chew getting more or less common?

More common. 8,516 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,905 in 2010, up 4.6%.

The surname Chew

A Chinese patronymic surname, carried by 8,905 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex C000

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Chew is more common than 97.5% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

* As an English surname, Chew has a number of separate origins: ** A toponymic surname referring to a place in Billington, Lancashire. It was originally spelled Cho, from Middle English cho, which is possibly a descendant of Old English *cēo (“gill”), denoting a ravine. ** A toponymic surname referring to Chew Magna or Chew Stoke in Somerset, England. ** A nickname from Old English ċīo, ċēo, which refers to smaller chattering species of crow, in particular the red-billed chough. * As a Chinese surname, borrowed from Hokkien 周 (Chiu), Teochew 周 (ziu1), Cantonese 趙／赵 (ziu6), etc.

Chew is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 193 Chinese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,905 people named Chew in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 34,671 Americans. That is up 4.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,516.

#3,988

rank among US surnames

8,905

people in 2010

3.0

per 100,000 Americans

+4.6%

change since 2000 (was #3,831)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,979	To	8,934	34,558
#3,981	Yun	8,933	34,562
#3,982	Aiello	8,927	34,586
#3,983	Baptiste	8,915	34,632
#3,984	Grice	8,914	34,636
#3,985	Freedman	8,913	34,640
#3,986	Bergstrom	8,908	34,659

Who is named Chew

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

40% of people named Chew identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 38% as white (not Hispanic) and 15% as Black (not Hispanic).

Asian and Pacific Islander 40%
White (not Hispanic) 38%
Black (not Hispanic) 15%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.9%
Two or more races 3.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Chews

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Geoffrey Chew
American theoretical physicist (1924–2019)
Phillip Chew
Badminton player, born 1994
Richard Chew
American Film Editor, born 1940
Robert F. Chew
American actor (1960–2013)
Ryan Chew
Badminton player, born 1996

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Chew

Chew has the Soundex code C000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C000.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Chew come from?: * As an English surname, Chew has a number of separate origins: ** A toponymic surname referring to a place in Billington, Lancashire. It was originally spelled Cho, from Middle English cho, which is possibly a descendant of Old English *cēo (“gill”), denoting a ravine. ** A toponymic surname…
How common is the surname Chew?: 8,905 people in the United States had the surname Chew in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 34,671 Americans. It ranked 3,988th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Chew?: In the 2010 Census, 40% of people named Chew identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 38% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Chew?: Geoffrey Chew, American theoretical physicist (1924–2019), followed by Phillip Chew.
Where is the surname Chew most common?: Wikidata records people named Chew in the United States.
What type of surname is Chew?: Chew is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Chew getting more or less common?: More common. 8,516 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,905 in 2010, up 4.6%.