How common is the surname Tsai?

10,968 people in the United States had the surname Tsai in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 28,150 Americans. It ranked 3,291st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Tsai?

Kristen Tsai, badminton player.

Where is the surname Tsai most common?

Wikidata records people named Tsai in Canada.

Is the surname Tsai getting more or less common?

More common. 9,332 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,968 in 2010, up 18%.

The surname Tsai

A Chinese surname, carried by 10,968 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex T200

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Tsai is more common than 98% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

From Mandarin 蔡 (Cài), Wade–Giles romanization: Tsʻai⁴.

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 10,968 people named Tsai in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 28,150 Americans. That is up 18% since 2000, when the Census counted 9,332.

#3,291

rank among US surnames

10,968

people in 2010

3.7

per 100,000 Americans

+17.5%

change since 2000 (was #3,503)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,282	Mortensen	11,013	28,035
#3,283	Domingo	11,012	28,037
#3,284	Fanning	11,007	28,050
#3,285	Palumbo	11,005	28,055
#3,286	Hartmann	11,000	28,068
#3,287	Dial	10,997	28,075
#3,288	Pino	10,993	28,086

Who is named Tsai

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

95% of people named Tsai identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 2.9% as two or more races and 1.8% as white (not Hispanic).

Asian and Pacific Islander 95%
Two or more races 2.9%
White (not Hispanic) 1.8%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 0.7%

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 Tsais

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Kristen Tsai
Badminton player, born 1995

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Surnames that sound like Tsai

Tsai has the Soundex code T200, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code T200.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Tsai come from?: From Mandarin 蔡 (Cài), Wade–Giles romanization: Tsʻai⁴.
How common is the surname Tsai?: 10,968 people in the United States had the surname Tsai in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 28,150 Americans. It ranked 3,291st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Tsai?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Tsai identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 2.9% as two or more races.
Who is the most famous person named Tsai?: Kristen Tsai, badminton player.
Where is the surname Tsai most common?: Wikidata records people named Tsai in Canada.
Is the surname Tsai getting more or less common?: More common. 9,332 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,968 in 2010, up 18%.
What are other spellings of Tsai?: Cai.