Surname Choi - Meaning and Origin
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read moreChoi: What does the surname Choi mean?
The last name Choi is a traditional Korean surname. It stands for the powerful idea of "clear space," emphasizing its bearer's open-mindedness and wide scope of understanding. According to Korean legends, the surname originated from the five stars in the East of the sky that the ancient Korean nobility worshipped in order to ward off evil spirits. The popularity of the surname Choi has been steadily increasing since the 1960s as many Koreans have emigrated around the world in search of better opportunities.
The surname Choi is most commonly found in South Korea, though it is also common in North Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The Chinese version of the surname is Cui, which is also quite common in that region.
By and large, Choi is a powerful and meaningful surname. It is a reminder to its bearer to stay open-minded, aware, and ever-educating oneself in order to stay sharp and perceptive. Choi stands for optimism, understanding, and clarity; traits which, if embraced, can take any person very far.
Order DNA origin analysisChoi: Where does the name Choi come from?
The surname Choi is a common Korean surname derived from the Chinese surname Ci (or Tzˤi). It is one of the most popular Korean surnames, ranking as the 23rd most common family name in Korea.
Today, families with the last name Choi are primarily concentrated in South Korea, where over 521,000 people share the surname. Choi is the most popular surname in South Cholla Province, where 39% of people living in the province share the surname. It is prevalent throughout the province, with a high concentration in the cities of Langsong and Wando, where 48.2 and 39.1% of the population respectively bear the Choi name.
Beyond South Korea, Choi is a relatively common surname found in other countries with Korean expatriate populations. For instance, there is a significant concentration of people with the Choi last name in the United States, estimated to number over 95,000. Chinese and Vietnamese communities with Korean connections also contain a significant proportion of Chinas, and it is increasingly found in countries such as the Philippines and Canada, as the number of expatriates from South Korean continues to grow in those countries.
Overall, the surname Choi is now highly prevalent in South Korea and increasingly common throughout many countries with significant Korean expatriate populations.
Variations of the surname Choi
The surname Choi has multiple variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin depending on the region that it's from.
In Chinese, the variants of the Choi surname is spelled Cai, Tsai, or Choy and Tsoi. For the Mandarin Chinese variants, the surname is spelled Cai, Tsai, and Tsoi. In Cantonese, the surname Choi is also spelled Choy.
In other East Asian countries like Vietnam, Korea, and Japan, the surname Choi is spelled differently depending on the language. In Vietnam, the surname is spelled Thái. In Japan, the surname is spelled Sai. In Korea, the surnames Chi, Choe, and Tae are all variants of the Choi surname.
The variants of the surname Choi have also diffused out of East Asia to other regions of the world. In the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, the surname is spelled Chui, Chew, and Chu with other minor spellings.
In Finland, the variant spelled Tsou is used.
Finally, there are also variants of the Choi surname in Thailand, which is spelled Jee or Je.
In conclusion, the surname Choi is spelled differently depending on the region and language it is from. Common variants include Cai, Tsai, Choy, Tsoi, Thái, Sai, Chi, Choe, Tae, Chui, Chew, Chu, Tsou, Jee, and Je.
Famous people with the name Choi
- South Korean mixed martial artist Choi Mu-Gyeom
- South Korean figure skater Cha Jun-Hwan
- South Korean actor Kim Tae-Hee
- South Korean footballer Choi Tae-Uk
- South Korean footballer Choi Young-Jae
- South Korean footballer Choi Chul-Woo
- South Korean actor Choi Min-Sik
- South Korean actor Choi Jin-Hyuk
- South Korean singer Choi Jin-Hwan
- South Korean singer Choi Chu-Geun
- South Korean singer Choi Soo-Rin
- South Korean guitarist Choi Yoon-Ah
- South Korean artist Choi Eun-Ah
- South Korean judoka An Chang-Rim
- South Korean baseball player Kim Hyun-Soo
- South Korean baseball pitcher Choi Jae-Hoon
- South Korean comedian Jun Jin-Ho
- South Korean basketball player Moon Tae-Jong
- South Korean diver Choi Jae-Hoon
- South Korean footballer Choi Sung-Yong