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    The surname Choi

    A Chinese surname, carried by 50,786 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /tʃɔɪ/ 1 syllable Soundex C000

    Choi: #674 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Choi #674, 50,786 people Choi: #674 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Choi #674, 50,786 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Choi is more common than 99.6% of them.

    Origin

    Chinese origin

    * (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.

    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 50,786 people named Choi in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 6,079 Americans. That is up 40% since 2000, when the Census counted 36,390.

    #674
    rank among US surnames
    50,786
    people in 2010
    17
    per 100,000 Americans
    +39.6%
    change since 2000 (was #872)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #665Acevedo51,3516,012
    #666Benitez51,2886,020
    #667Zavala51,1536,036
    #668Hensley51,0816,044
    #669Glenn51,0436,049
    #670Cisneros50,9206,063
    #671Harrell50,8376,073

    Who is named Choi

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

    96% of people named Choi identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 1.6% as white (not Hispanic) and 1.5% as two or more races.

    • Asian and Pacific Islander 96%
    • White (not Hispanic) 1.6%
    • Two or more races 1.5%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 0.5%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 0.3%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.0%

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

    Famous Chois

    10 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • 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, born 1971
    • Susan Choi
      American novelist, born 1969
    • Dan Choi
      American activist, born 1981
    • Jake Choi
      American film actor, born 1992
    • Choe Chol-su
      Boxer, born 1969
    • Vernon Chwe
      American-South Korean rapper, born 1998
    • Young Kim
      American politician, born 1962
    • Choe Song-hyok
      Association football player, born 1998

    Notable Chois come mostly from the United States (5), South Korea (3) and North Korea (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Choi

    Choi 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 Choi come from?
    * (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.
    How common is the surname Choi?
    50,786 people in the United States had the surname Choi in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,079 Americans. It ranked 674th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Choi?
    In the 2010 Census, 96% of people named Choi identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 1.6% as white (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Choi?
    Choi Kyu-hah, 4th President of South Korea (1919–2006), followed by Choi Sang-mok.
    Where is the surname Choi most common?
    Wikidata records people named Choi in the United States, South Korea and North Korea.
    How do you pronounce Choi?
    Choi is /tʃɔɪ/, one syllable.
    Is the surname Choi getting more or less common?
    More common. 36,390 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 50,786 in 2010, up 40%.
    What are other spellings of Choi?
    Choe, Choy, Tsoi and Tsoy.