# Choi (surname)

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

A surname from Chinese [in turn from Cantonese].

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 50,786 |
| US rank (2010) | 674 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 6,079 people |
| Change since 2000 | +40% (36,390 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /tʃɔɪ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Choe, Choy, Tsoi, Tsoy |

## Etymology

* (Chinese surname): From a romanization of Cantonese 蔡 (coi³). Doublet of Tsai and Cai. * (Korean surname): From a romanization of Korean 최(崔) (Choe). Doublet of Cui and Chui.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Choi 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) | 1.6% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 0.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 96% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.0% |
| Two or more races | 1.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Choi in the United States, South Korea and North Korea.

## People named Choi

- Choi Kyu-hah, 4th President of South Korea (1919–2006)
- Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Prime Minister of South Korea from December 2024 to March 2025
- Kenneth Choi, American actor
- Susan Choi, American novelist
- Dan Choi, American activist
- Jake Choi, American film actor
- Choe Chol-su, boxer
- Vernon Chwe, American-South Korean rapper
- Young Kim, American politician
- Choe Song-hyok, association football player

## Similar surnames

Cho, Chow, Chiu, Chao, Chou, Choe, Chi, Choy, Chai, Choo, Chia, Chui.

## 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.