The Tsai surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,968 people carried this name — #3,291 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,900 people counted. That is up 18% from 9,332 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Tsai surname

From Mandarin 蔡 (Cài), Wade–Giles romanization: Tsʻai⁴.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Tsai» (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 205 people named Tsai 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.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 156
Buenos Aires Province 34
Córdoba 15

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

59 people named Tsai live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 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 21
Zurich 11
Basel-Stadt 10
Geneva 8
Aargau 3
Bern 3
Thurgau 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 23 people named Tsai.

Most of them — 19 — 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 19
Paris 3
Haute-Garonne 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

65 people named Tsai is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 65

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

Tsai in American newspapers,
1915–1916.

Newspaper page from New Britain Herald carrying the name Tsai
New Britain Herald 1916-06-02
Newspaper page from Arizona Sentinel Yuma Southwest carrying the name Tsai
Arizona Sentinel Yuma Southwest 1916-06-01
Newspaper page from Arizona Republican carrying the name Tsai
Arizona Republican 1915-12-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 21,108 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Tsai in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1990s.

208 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tsai. The most, 48, date from the 1920s. 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 South Australia, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 54
Victoria 47
South Australia 32
Queensland 26
Western Australia 18
ACT (Canberra) 14
Tasmania 10
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Tsai,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Tsai Jui-yueh 1921–2005 · choreographer
  • Tsai Jui-yueh 1921–2005 · choreographer
  • Chow Yeh Tsai 1921–1991
  • Chow Yeh Tsai 1921–1991
  • Lung-Wen Tsai 1945–2002 · professor

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Tsai,
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 States86 records

86 records of the Tsai name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 84
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Yueh C. Tsai

    Born 1918. Enlisted 1943 at New Haven, Connecticut, from New Haven County.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
  2. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Lebao Y. Tsai

    Born 1890 in China. Registered as a foreign national in Washington, District Of Columbia, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
  3. An Oregon State Board of Health certificate of death, 1910
    Example: U.S. death certificate, 1910
    Death record Ho Tsai

    Died 1945 in Manhattan, New York, aged 52.

    NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data)

Showing 3 of 86 records for Tsai in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); Certificate of death, Oregon State Board of Health, 1910, Oregon State Archives (public domain).

Netherlands13 records

13 records of the Tsai name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 7
  • Dutch population registers 6
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record I. Kun Tsai

    Died 1958 in Zwolle, aged 56; cook.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ko Yen Tsai

    Married in 1943 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 Ou Sun Tsai

    In the population register of Tchekiang; born 1894 in Tchekiang.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Breda (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Tsai 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).

France5 records

5 records of the Tsai 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 Chen Huan Tsai

    Born 1932 in China; died 2001 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 Belling Tsai

    Born 1906 in China; died 1993 in Palaiseau (Essonne).

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

    Born 1898 in China; died 1995 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Tsai 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).

Australia3 records

3 records of the Tsai name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Sophia Melby Tsai

    Student of Mulgrave, Victoria; died 2000.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 P. H. Tsai

    Sailed from Victoria in 1887 aboard the Natal, bound for Adelaide, aged 37.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Tsai in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Tsai name in Canada City of Calgary cemetery records
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Yuk Kum Tsai

    Buried in 1998 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 80.

    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 Manai Tsai

    Buried in 1988 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

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

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Tsai.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Tsai 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.

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