The Chi surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,273 people carried this name — #4,843 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,500 people counted. That is up 27% from 5,735 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Chi surname

From the Wade–Giles romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 姞 (Jí), sometimes derived from 女 (“woman, matriarchal clan marker”) + 吉 (jí, “lucky”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chi» (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 125 people named Chi 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.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 70
City of Buenos Aires 55

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

28 people named Chi live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 12
Zurich 9
Geneva 4
Fribourg 3

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 21 people named Chi.

Most of them — 20 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 1 département, most often Nord.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 20
Nord 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

74 people named Chi are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 53
Finland (2026) 21

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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Chi in American newspapers,
1903–1908.

Newspaper page from The St. Mary Banner carrying the name Chi
The St. Mary Banner 1903-08-01
Newspaper page from The Columbus Weekly Dispatch carrying the name Chi
The Columbus Weekly Dispatch 1908-10-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,022 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Chi in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2010s.

14,017 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Chi. The most, 3,212, date from the 1940s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 4,446
Victoria 3,910
Queensland 2,428
South Australia 1,238
Western Australia 1,006
Tasmania 605
ACT (Canberra) 294
Northern Territory 19

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Chi.

Who carried it

People named Chi,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Chi Bianlong d. 1648
  • Chi Fengxiang 1506– · politician
  • Chi Huang 1632– · politician
  • Mengbin Chi 1918–
  • Chao-Li Chi 1927–2010 · stage actor

Wikidata (CC0) · 7 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Chi,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States171 records

171 records of the Chi name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 130
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 28
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 3
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Richard E. Chi

    Born 1914 in Hawaiian Islands. Enlisted 1945; station agent. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1985, buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Anna Chi

    Arrived at New York in 1903 aboard the Napolitan Prince from Genoa, Naples and Palermo, aged 27; domestic. From Sciacca, Agrigento, Italy.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Helen Chi

    Born 1881 in Korea. Registered as a foreign national in Honolulu, Hawaii, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 171 records for Chi in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Australia3 records

3 records of the Chi name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Chi

    Arrived in Western Australia in 1870.

    State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Willie Chi

    Sailed from Victoria in 1913 aboard the Tango Maru, bound for Japan, aged 40.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Chi in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France3 records

3 records of the Chi name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Chiu-Tai Chi

    Born 1917 in China; died 1990 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Xiaohai Chi

    Born 1977 in China; died 1996 in Créteil (Val-de-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Chi in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Chi name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Yu Chung Chi

    Married in 1940 in Amsterdam; merchant.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Catharina Bastiaen Chi

    Baptised in 1657 in Goirle.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Tcheou Chan Chi

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1890 in Tcheking.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Chi name in Canada City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lion Chi

    Buried in 1991 at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence

Counts: Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Chi name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. Chi

    Seaforth Highlanders. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Chi.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Chi 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.

See the Chi volume
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