Chau
A Vietnamese feminine name meaning "precious jewel" or "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 475 living Americans carry the first name Chau. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 78.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Chau today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chau births was 1982 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chau. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
475
~ 1 in 721,588 Americans
Peak year
1982
35 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
1992 SSA rank
#7,568
Tracked since 1975
Census
Chau in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,194 people with the first name Chau, which placed it at #2,822 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,822
National first-name rank
People counted
8.2K
8,194 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chau
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chau is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Chau described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Chau at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.4% · 8,060
- White0.8% · 63
- Two or more races0.5% · 38
- Black or African American0.2% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Chau
Chau is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 496 total registrations, 107 (21.6%) were male and 389 (78.4%) were female.
Chau as a male name
- Ranked #7,568 in 1992
- 6 male births in 1992
- Peak: 1982 (16 births)
Chau as a female name
- Ranked #12,511 in 2022
- 7 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1980 (22 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chau on both sides of the split. Of the 8,189 people counted with this name, 2,714 were male (33.1%) and 5,475 were female (66.9%).
Popularity
Chau: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chau from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 233 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chau by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chau during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chaus live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chau
The name Chau has its origins in the Vietnamese language and culture, dating back several centuries. Derived from the Vietnamese word "châu," meaning "pearl" or "precious stone," it is believed to have been used as a name to signify beauty, value, and rarity.
In ancient Vietnam, pearls were highly prized and considered symbols of wealth, purity, and elegance. The name Chau may have been bestowed upon children as a wish for them to embody these qualities or to express their parents' hopes and aspirations for their future.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Chau can be found in the "Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư" (Complete Annals of Đại Việt), a historical text compiled during the Lê Dynasty in the 15th century. This work includes accounts of notable individuals bearing the name Chau, suggesting its use among the Vietnamese nobility and scholarly classes.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Chau. One such individual was Châu Thị Tú (1900-1980), a Vietnamese poet and activist who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence. Her poetry, which often touched upon themes of patriotism and social justice, earned her widespread recognition and admiration.
Another prominent figure was Châu Văn Liêm (1918-1976), a Vietnamese general who served in the Vietnam War. He was known for his strategic acumen and leadership, playing a crucial role in several major battles against the French and American forces.
In the realm of science, Châu Văn Minh (1922-2001) was a renowned Vietnamese mathematician and academic. He made significant contributions to the study of differential equations and was widely respected for his teaching and mentorship of aspiring mathematicians.
Châu Thị Bình (1924-2008) was a celebrated Vietnamese writer and translator, renowned for her captivating short stories and her translations of literary works from French and Russian into Vietnamese. Her works explored themes of love, family, and the human condition, earning her numerous accolades and a place among Vietnam's literary greats.
Châu Văn Tấn (1937-2019) was a distinguished Vietnamese artist and sculptor, known for his intricate wood carvings and sculptures that captured the essence of Vietnamese culture and tradition. His works have been exhibited globally and are highly regarded for their technical mastery and artistic vision.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Chau throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of Vietnamese culture and society.
People
Chau + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chau as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chau: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chau?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 475 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chau going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 721,588 US residents.
Is Chau a common name?
We classify Chau as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 496 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chau most popular?
The single biggest year for Chau was 1982, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chau is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chau in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,194 people with the name Chau, or 2.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,822 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Chau in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Chau?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chau on both sides of the split. Of the 8,189 people counted with this name, 2,714 were male (33.1%) and 5,475 were female (66.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Chau?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chau is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Chau most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (8,060 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chau in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chau a female name?
Yes, 78.4% of people registered as Chau in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chau still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chau in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chau can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Chau?
Find out how many people share the name Chau on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.