The Chow surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 17,059 people carried this name — #2,122 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 17,300 people counted. That is up 9% from 15,650 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

Where the name comes from

The origin of the Chow surname

From Cantonese 周 (zau¹).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chow» (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

51 people named Chow live in Switzerland.

They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in St. Gallen.

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

Where they live today

St. Gallen 13
Zurich 12
Geneva 8
Vaud 6
Basel-Landschaft 3
Basel-Stadt 3
Schwyz 3
Zug 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 28 people named Chow.

Most of them — 25 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 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

Born outside France 25
Paris 2
Yvelines 1

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

In Argentina’s national register

At least 23 people named Chow 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 23

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

In the Nordic population registers

59 people named Chow is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 59

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).

In print

Chow in American newspapers,
1897–1901.

Newspaper page from Among The Clouds carrying the name Chow
Among The Clouds 1901-08-06
Newspaper page from The Age-herald carrying the name Chow
The Age-herald 1900-07-09
Newspaper page from The Independent carrying the name Chow
The Independent 1897-01-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 411 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Chow in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

3,111 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Chow. The most, 883, date from the 1930s. 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 the Northern Territory, at 10.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,060
Victoria 854
Queensland 485
South Australia 176
Tasmania 173
Western Australia 74
ACT (Canberra) 72
Northern Territory 45

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

Who carried it

People named Chow,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Raymond Chow
    Raymond Chow 1927–2018 · film producer
  • Gin Chow 1857–1933
  • Chow Han Hua 1909–2000 · badminton player
  • Ruby Chow 1920–2008 · politician
  • Law-lin Tsi 1924–2015 · actor
  • Chuen-Yen Chow 1932–2022 · aerospace engineer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Chow,
in the records of 5 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 States944 records

944 records of the Chow name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 759
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 85
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 50
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 28
  • Sacramento County historic burials 15
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 4
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Calvin Kealohaokalan Chow

    Born 1931; from Honolulu, Hawaii. U.S. Marine Corps, pilot hmh; killed in action 1966 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Chaske Chow

    Arrived at New York in 1888 aboard the City of Chicago from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 22; laborer. From Hamburg, Russia; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Chin F. Chow

    Born 1913. Enlisted 1943 at Miami Beach, Florida; aircraft mechanic from New York County, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 944 records for Chow 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) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Canada384 records

384 records of the Chow name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 256
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 99
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 11
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 11
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 6
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Frank Chow

    Buried in 1993 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 85.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Chow

    Buried in 1977 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 37.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Oh Chow

    Died 1892 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 384 records for Chow in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia39 records

39 records of the Chow name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 10
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 9
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 8
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ah Chow

    Miner of Fryers Creek, Victoria; died 1868.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Ah Chow

    Died 1879 in Horton, Tasmania, aged 40.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Ann Chow

    Sailed from Victoria in 1862 aboard the City of Hobart, bound for Hobart Town, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 39 records for Chow in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands10 records

10 records of the Chow name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 7
  • Dutch population registers 3
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Wan Chow

    Died 1968 in Rotterdam, aged 61.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Kuo Lung Chow

    Married in 1950 in Utrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Jok Chow

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1888 in Hongkong.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Chow in the Netherlands.

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

France4 records

4 records of the Chow 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 Shu Fun Chow

    Born 1951 in A Hong Kong (Hong Kong); died 1992 in Paris.

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

    Born 1964 in Paris; died 1993 in Château-d'Olonne (Vendée).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Siao Ling Chow

    Born 1940 in Vietnam; died 1997 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Chow 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Chow.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Chow 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 Chow volume
Scroll to Top