Surname Rarity Checker / How rare is Chen
How Rare Is the Last Name Chen?
Chen is the 150th most common surname in the United States. About 169,580 Americans carry it, which works out to roughly 1 in 1,567 people, or 0.0638% of the population. That is a common surname, though far from the top of the list. Here is the full picture from the Census surname file, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 1,567
- Tier
- Common
- U.S. rank
- 150th
- Share of people
- 0.0638%
- People named
- 169,580
- Source
- Census 2010
Based on the U.S. Census Bureau 2010 surname file, which counts 265,667,228 people across 162,253 surnames held by 100 or more people.
Where the surname Chen comes from
Chen is one of the oldest Chinese surnames, tracing to an ancient state of the same name. In Mandarin it is Chen, in Cantonese Chan, and in Hokkien Tan, so the same family name appears under several spellings.
Want to check a different last name? Try the surname rarity checker. Last names are only half the picture: the first-name rarity checker runs the same math on given names, and how common is my name combines the two.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the last name Chen?
- Chen is in the Common tier. About 1 in 1,567 Americans share it, which is 0.0638% of the population, and it ranks 150th of all U.S. surnames. In total 169,580 people carried it in the 2010 Census.
- Is Chen a rare last name?
- No. Chen is a well-established surname rather than a rare one. It is in the Common tier, ranked 150th of all U.S. surnames, with about 1 in 1,567 Americans sharing it.
- How common is the surname Chen?
- About 1 in 1,567 Americans carry the surname Chen, which is 0.0638% of the population and 150th of all U.S. surnames. That places it in the Common tier.
- How many people have the last name Chen?
- 169,580 people in the United States, according to the Census Bureau's 2010 surname file, which counted 265,667,228 people across 162,253 surnames.
- Where does the surname Chen come from?
- Chen is one of the oldest Chinese surnames, tracing to an ancient state of the same name. In Mandarin it is Chen, in Cantonese Chan, and in Hokkien Tan, so the same family name appears under several spellings.