The Chun surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,141 people carried this name — #2,740 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 22,500 people counted. That is up 18% from 11,154 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Chun surname

Borrowed from Korean 전 (Jeon), derived from 全 or 田.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chun» (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 126 people named Chun 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 City of Buenos Aires.

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

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 102
Buenos Aires Province 24

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

27 people named Chun live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.

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

Where they live today

Aargau 5
Fribourg 5
Lucerne 5
Valais 5
Zurich 4
Vaud 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 print

Chun in American newspapers,
1893.

Newspaper page from The Grenada Sentinel carrying the name Chun
The Grenada Sentinel 1893-04-01
Newspaper page from The Delta Independent carrying the name Chun
The Delta Independent 1893-12-06
Newspaper page from Daily Independent carrying the name Chun
Daily Independent 1893-02-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 581 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Chun in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2000s.

4,027 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Chun. The most, 1,012, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,147
New South Wales 1,137
Victoria 773
Western Australia 406
ACT (Canberra) 257
South Australia 132
Tasmania 125
Northern Territory 6

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

Who carried it

People named Chun,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Carl Chun
    Carl Chun 1852–1914 · naturalist
  • Carl Chun
    Carl Chun 1852–1914 · naturalist
  • Annie Chun 1885–1922
  • Lily Pringsheim 1887–1954 · writer
  • Chun Hangseop 1906–1958
  • Chun Hangseop 1906–1958

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 Chun,
in the records of 7 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 States983 records

983 records of the Chun name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 650
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 185
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 107
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 23
  • Sacramento County historic burials 8
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Kun I. Chun

    Born 1925 in Hawaiian Islands. Enlisted 1946 at Rupert, Idaho; schoolteacher. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1981, 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 Christine Chun

    Arrived at New York in 1859 aboard the Progress from Havre, aged 29; farmer. From Baden, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Reginald Wung Yett Chun

    Born 1945; from Honolulu, Hawaii. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Binh Long, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 983 records for Chun 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) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia36 records

36 records of the Chun name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 14
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Thomas Chun

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Marquis of Hastings, sailing from Portsmouth in 1839. Native of Wiltshire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Harry L. Chun

    Fruiterer of Melbourne, Victoria; died 1940.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Joe Chun

    Arrived in Victoria in 1914 aboard the Nikko Maru, aged 39.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 36 records for Chun in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada15 records

15 records of the Chun name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 12
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Eng Lai Chun

    Buried in 1999 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 56.

    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 Randi Chun

    Died 1936; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Woo Yue Chun

    Died 1947; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 15 records for Chun 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Germany6 records

6 records of the Chun name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Karl Chun

    From Cassel. Reported taken prisoner in the Prussian casualty list of 3 February 1919 (Infantry Regiment No. 83).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Ernst Chun

    From Cöln. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 8 August 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Chun in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

France5 records

5 records of the Chun 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 Yu-Tsui Chun

    Born 1918 in China; died 1994 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 Kay Chun

    Born 1914 in Cambodia; died 1997 in Cambrai (Nord).

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

    Born 1912 in Cambodia; died 1990 in Villiers-le-Bel (Val-d'Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Chun 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).

Netherlands4 records

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

    Died 1933 in Rotterdam, aged 45.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Chang Hsien Chun

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1900 in Chekiang.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Carl Heinrich Ulrich Chun

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1893 in Batavia.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Chun 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); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Chun name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Arthur Chun

    Died 1993; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Chun in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Chun.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Chun 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 Chun volume
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