# China (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 813 |
| US rank (2010) | 29,138 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 379,761 people |
| Change since 2000 | +7.0% (760 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈt͡ʃaɪnə/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Chin, Chyna |

## Etymology

From Portuguese China, from possibly Venetan Cina probably under influence from Old French Chin, from Classical Persian چین (čīn) under influence from Medieval Latin Sīna (“China”), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (Čīn, “China”), from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “the Chinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived from Chinese 秦 (Qín) (sm Qín, mc d͡zin, oc *dziŋ, "Qin"), the westernmost ancient Chinese state, but other theories have been proposed, including derivation from 晉 /晋 (jìn) (sm Jìn, mc t͡sinh, oc *tsiŋh, "Jin"), another important ancient state; 荊 /荆 (jīng) (sm Jīng, mc kɹaŋ, oc *kreŋ, "Chu"), the southernmost ancient Chinese state; or Zina, the endonym of the people of the Yelang kingdom. See "Names of China" and "Chinas" at Wikipedia. As a female name, usually derived via china (“porcelain”) and china doll, ultimately from the same source.

## Who carries it

Share of people named China 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) | 17% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 48% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 15% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 14% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.0% |
| Two or more races | 5.0% |

## Similar surnames

Chen, Chan, Chin, Chun, Chinn, Chien, Chon, Chino, Chain, Cohen, Cain, Conway.

## 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.