How common is the surname Chow?

17,059 people in the United States had the surname Chow in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,099 Americans. It ranked 2,122nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Chow?

Tim Chow, British association football player (born 1994), followed by Tina Chow.

Where is the surname Chow most common?

Wikidata records people named Chow in the United Kingdom and the United States.

How do you pronounce Chow?

Chow is /t͡ʃaʊ/, one syllable.

Is the surname Chow getting more or less common?

More common. 15,650 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,059 in 2010, up 9.0%.

The surname Chow

A Chinese surname, carried by 17,059 people in the United States.

Pronounced /t͡ʃaʊ/ 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). Chow is more common than 98.7% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

From Cantonese 周 (zau¹).

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 17,059 people named Chow in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,099 Americans. That is up 9.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,650.

#2,122

rank among US surnames

17,059

people in 2010

5.8

per 100,000 Americans

+9%

change since 2000 (was #2,124)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,113	Quigley	17,121	18,033
#2,114	Atwood	17,112	18,043
#2,115	Brunson	17,099	18,056
#2,116	Coon	17,097	18,058
#2,117	Mott	17,092	18,064
#2,119	Dinh	17,081	18,075
#2,120	Hirsch	17,072	18,085

Who is named Chow

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

87% of people named Chow identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 4.8% as two or more races and 4.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Asian and Pacific Islander 87%
Two or more races 4.8%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.0%
White (not Hispanic) 3.5%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.0%

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

Famous Chows

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Tim Chow
British association football player (born 1994)
Tina Chow
American model and fashion icon (1950-1992)

Notable Chows come mostly from the United Kingdom (1) and the United States (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Chow

Chow 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 Chow come from?: From Cantonese 周 (zau¹).
How common is the surname Chow?: 17,059 people in the United States had the surname Chow in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,099 Americans. It ranked 2,122nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Chow?: In the 2010 Census, 87% of people named Chow identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 4.8% as two or more races.
Who is the most famous person named Chow?: Tim Chow, British association football player (born 1994), followed by Tina Chow.
Where is the surname Chow most common?: Wikidata records people named Chow in the United Kingdom and the United States.
How do you pronounce Chow?: Chow is /t͡ʃaʊ/, one syllable.
Is the surname Chow getting more or less common?: More common. 15,650 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,059 in 2010, up 9.0%.