The Chen surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 169,580 people carried this name — #150 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,740 people counted. That is up 61% from 105,544 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Chen surname
From Mandarin 陳／陈 (Chén).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chen» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 10,533 people named Chen 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 Switzerland’s population statistics
1,598 people named Chen live in Switzerland.
They live in 23 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 Belgium’s population register
At least 1,574 people named Chen 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 463 people named Chen.
Most of them — 382 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 15 départements, most often Paris.
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 Poland’s population register
144 people named Chen have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 2,069 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 12 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
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
3,046 people named Chen 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
Chen in American newspapers,
1902–1949.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 558,411 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Chen,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Chen Ping -25–-17 · politician -
Chen Gong 150–199 · politician -
Emperor Wen of Chen 522–566 · military personnel -
Consort Chen 577–605 -
Chen Zi'ang 661–702 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 135 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Chen.
- Chea 4,492 · U.S. census
- Checa 263 · U.S. census
- Checchi 251 · U.S. census
- Cheli 222 · U.S. census
- Chelli 132 · U.S. census
- Chemin 120 · U.S. census
- Chenaille 134 · U.S. census
- Chenard 661 · U.S. census
- Chenault 4,278 · U.S. census
- Chene 272 · U.S. census
- Cheneau 149 · U.S. census
- Chenet 285 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Chen 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.