How common is the surname Cho?

33,490 people in the United States had the surname Cho in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,219 Americans. It ranked 1,038th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Cho?

John Cho, American actor (born 1972), followed by Arden Cho.

Where is the surname Cho most common?

Wikidata records people named Cho in the United States and South Korea.

Is the surname Cho getting more or less common?

More common. 25,305 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,490 in 2010, up 32%.

The surname Cho

A Korean surname, carried by 33,490 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). Cho is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

Korean origin

From Korean 조(趙) (Jo) and 조(曺) (Jo), or Cantonese 曹 (cou4).

One of 42 Korean surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 33,490 people named Cho in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,219 Americans. That is up 32% since 2000, when the Census counted 25,305.

#1,038

rank among US surnames

33,490

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+32.3%

change since 2000 (was #1,277)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,029	Saenz	33,787	9,138
#1,030	Davies	33,753	9,147
#1,031	Vera	33,674	9,169
#1,032	Levine	33,637	9,179
#1,033	Mooney	33,555	9,201
#1,034	John	33,543	9,204
#1,035	Rosa	33,521	9,211

Who is named Cho

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

95% of people named Cho identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 1.9% as two or more races and 1.9% as white (not Hispanic).

Asian and Pacific Islander 95%
Two or more races 1.9%
White (not Hispanic) 1.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 0.8%

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 Chos

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John Cho
American actor (born 1972)
Arden Cho
American actress, singer, and model, born 1985
Margaret Cho
American comedian and actress (born 1968)
Shin Ae
Actress, born 1982

Notable Chos come mostly from the United States (2) and South Korea (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Cho

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

Other Korean surnames

All 42 Korean surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Cho come from?: From Korean 조(趙) (Jo) and 조(曺) (Jo), or Cantonese 曹 (cou4).
How common is the surname Cho?: 33,490 people in the United States had the surname Cho in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,219 Americans. It ranked 1,038th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cho?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Cho identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 1.9% as two or more races.
Who is the most famous person named Cho?: John Cho, American actor (born 1972), followed by Arden Cho.
Where is the surname Cho most common?: Wikidata records people named Cho in the United States and South Korea.
Is the surname Cho getting more or less common?: More common. 25,305 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,490 in 2010, up 32%.