The Chan surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 76,664 people carried this name — #425 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,850 people counted. That is up 17% from 65,719 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Chan surname
A Chinese surname from Cantonese.
Borrowed from Cantonese 陳 /陈 (can⁴).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chan» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
458 people named Chan live in Switzerland.
They live in 19 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 343 people named Chan.
Most of them — 273 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 départements, most often French Polynesia.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 265 people named Chan live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 233 people named Chan live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
27 people named Chan have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 175 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 8 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
696 people named Chan are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Chan in American newspapers,
1961–1962.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 746,153 pages in all carry the name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Chan.
- Champie 104 · U.S. census
- Champigny 326 · U.S. census
- Champion 17,527 · U.S. census
- Champoux 661 · U.S. census
- Champy 181 · U.S. census
- Chamu 396 · U.S. census
- Chana 325 · U.S. census
- Chanay 124 · U.S. census
- Chance 14,256 · U.S. census
- Chancy 1,010 · U.S. census
- Chandler 79,186 · U.S. census
- Chane 204 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Chan is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.