How common is the surname Chi?

7,273 people in the United States had the surname Chi in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 42,451 Americans. It ranked 4,843rd of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Chi?

In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Chi identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 8.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Chi?

Chao-Li Chi, American dancer and actor (1927-2010).

Where is the surname Chi most common?

Wikidata records people named Chi in the People's Republic of China.

How do you pronounce Chi?

Chi is /t͡ʃiː/, one syllable.

Is the surname Chi getting more or less common?

More common. 5,735 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,273 in 2010, up 27%.

Is Chi also a first name?

Yes. Chi is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Chi

A surname, carried by 7,273 people in the United States.

Pronounced /t͡ʃiː/ 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). Chi is more common than 97% of them.

Origin

From the Wade-Giles romanization of the Mandarin Chinese 齊 /齐 (Qí).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 7,273 people named Chi in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 42,451 Americans. That is up 27% since 2000, when the Census counted 5,735.

#4,843

rank among US surnames

7,273

people in 2010

2.5

per 100,000 Americans

+26.8%

change since 2000 (was #5,561)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,834	Lindgren	7,300	42,294
#4,835	Tibbs	7,294	42,329
#4,836	Bare	7,291	42,346
#4,837	Das	7,289	42,358
#4,838	Lowman	7,284	42,387
#4,839	McKeon	7,283	42,393
#4,840	Creighton	7,282	42,398

Who is named Chi

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

84% of people named Chi identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 8.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 3.0% as white (not Hispanic).

Asian and Pacific Islander 84%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 8.2%
White (not Hispanic) 3.0%
Two or more races 2.8%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Black, Native American are not shown.

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

Famous Chis

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Chao-Li Chi
American dancer and actor (1927-2010)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Chi

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

Questions

Where does the surname Chi come from?: From the Wade-Giles romanization of the Mandarin Chinese 齊 /齐 (Qí).
How common is the surname Chi?: 7,273 people in the United States had the surname Chi in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 42,451 Americans. It ranked 4,843rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Chi?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Chi identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 8.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Chi?: Chao-Li Chi, American dancer and actor (1927-2010).
Where is the surname Chi most common?: Wikidata records people named Chi in the People's Republic of China.
How do you pronounce Chi?: Chi is /t͡ʃiː/, one syllable.
Is the surname Chi getting more or less common?: More common. 5,735 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,273 in 2010, up 27%.
Is Chi also a first name?: Yes. Chi is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.