Choua
A feminine name of Southeast Asian origin meaning "flower".
Name Census estimates that about 455 living Americans carry the first name Choua. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Choua today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Choua births was 1990 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Choua. 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
455
~ 1 in 753,306 Americans
Peak year
1990
48 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1996 SSA rank
#7,264
Tracked since 1980
Census
Choua in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,144 people with the first name Choua, which placed it at #11,297 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
#11,297
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,144 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Choua
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Choua is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.9%. The next largest groups are White (0.6%) and Hispanic (0.3%). 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 Choua 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 Choua at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.9% · 1,131
- White0.6% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Choua
Choua leans heavily female at 81.9% of total registrations, but 86 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Choua as a male name
- Ranked #7,264 in 1996
- 7 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1990 (16 births)
Choua as a female name
- Ranked #15,956 in 2002
- 5 female births in 2002
- Peak: 1990 (32 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Choua on both sides of the split. Of the 1,149 people counted with this name, 317 were male (27.6%) and 832 were female (72.4%).
Popularity
Choua: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Choua from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 238 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Choua 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 Choua during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chouas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Choua, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 91 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Choua
The given name Choua has its roots in the Lao language, originating from the landlocked country of Laos in Southeast Asia. It is believed to have derived from the ancient Lao word "chuan," which translates to "gently flowing water" or "a small stream." This connection to nature and water likely stems from the importance of the Mekong River and its tributaries in Lao culture and daily life.
Historically, the name Choua is thought to have been used as early as the 14th century during the Lan Xang Kingdom, one of the largest empires in mainland Southeast Asia at the time. It is possible that the name appeared in ancient Lao literary works or historical records from this period, although definitive records are scarce.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Choua can be found in the 16th century, with Prince Choua Kouang, a member of the Lao royal family during the reign of King Setthathirath. Choua Kouang was known for his military prowess and played a crucial role in the defense of the kingdom against Burmese invasions.
In the 18th century, Choua Anou was a prominent Lao poet and scholar who contributed to the preservation of Lao literature and cultural heritage. His works, including epic poems and literary anthologies, are still studied and celebrated in Laos today.
Moving into the 20th century, Choua Insixiengmay (1924-1975) was a notable Lao politician and diplomat who served as the Foreign Minister of Laos during the tumultuous years of the Laotian Civil War. He played a pivotal role in international negotiations and efforts to maintain Laos's neutrality during the conflict.
Another notable figure with the name Choua is Choua Vang (1948-2003), a Hmong-American author and advocate for the Hmong community in the United States. Her memoir "Bamboo Among the Oaks" provided insights into the experiences of Hmong refugees resettling in America after the Vietnam War.
Lastly, Choua Xue (born 1972) is a contemporary Lao-American artist and graphic designer known for her vibrant and culturally inspired works. Her art has been featured in various exhibitions and publications, celebrating her Lao heritage and exploring themes of identity and cultural preservation.
People
Choua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Choua 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
Choua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Choua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 455 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Choua 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 753,306 US residents.
Is Choua a common name?
We classify Choua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 476 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Choua most popular?
The single biggest year for Choua was 1990, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Choua is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Choua in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,144 people with the name Choua, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,297 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 Choua 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 Choua?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Choua on both sides of the split. Of the 1,149 people counted with this name, 317 were male (27.6%) and 832 were female (72.4%). 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 Choua?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Choua is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.9%. The next largest groups are White (0.6%) and Hispanic (0.3%). 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 Choua most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Choua in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.9% (1,131 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 Choua in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Choua a female name?
Yes, 81.9% of people registered as Choua 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 Choua still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Choua 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 Choua 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 common is the name Choua?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.