Explore the Family Name Cha
The meaning of Cha
1. Korean (Ch’a): written 자, in Chinese characters 車, meaning ‘cart’ or ‘wagon’. This is the only Chinese character for the surname Ch’a, and the Yŏnan Ch’a clan is the only clan. Their founding ancestor was Ch’a Hyojŏn (車; 孝全), the son of a Koryŏ high minister named Yu Ch’a-tal (10th century ad). He served the incoming Koryŏ rulers with exceptional valour and loyalty, so the Koryŏ monarch bestowed upon his first son the surname Ch’a (車) and enfeoffed him with Yŏnan County in Hwanghae South Province. Ch’a is a fairly common surname throughout the Korean peninsula, but most of the clan’s members live in Kyŏngsang province, Hwanghae province, or P’yŏngan province. 2. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 茶, meaning ‘tea’ in Chinese: (i) possibly borne by the descendants of Lu Yu (733–804 AD), a famous figure during the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), known as the Sage of Tea, who wrote the book Classic of Tea. (ii) from the first element of the placename Chalin (茶陵, located in present-day Hunan province), said to be the place where the legendary Yan Emperor was buried. (iii) adopted in place of the surname Meng (蒙) by some members living in Yunnan in order to avoid persecution or feud. (iv) adopted as a Han Chinese surname by some minority ethnic groups in southwestern China. 3. Chinese: Cantonese form and alternative Mandarin form of the surname 查, see Zha. 4. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 謝, see Xie 1. 5. Southeast Asian (Hmong): from the name of the Cha or Chang clan of the Hmong people in Laos, China, and Vietnam; in Chinese characters it is written 張 (see Zhang 1). Compare Chang 14. Some characteristic forenames: Chinese Young, Jae, Yong, Jin, Jung, Sang, Kyung, Soon, Sung, Yung, Jong, Kwang. Korean Chong, Byung, Joo, Chang, Min, Hojoon, Jung Jin, Neng, Toua, Blia, Blong, Bok Nam.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Cha in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Cha has seen a significant increase in popularity over the course of a decade. In 2000, the surname ranked 4258th in popularity with 7698 instances recorded. By 2010, the popularity rank had increased to 3654th with a count of 9732, marking a change of 14.19% and 26.42% respectively. This change also translated into a proportional increase per 100k from 2.85 to 3.3, representing a 15.79% shift.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,258 | #3,654 | 14.19% |
| Count | 7,698 | 9,732 | 26.42% |
| Proportion per 100k | 2.85 | 3.3 | 15.79% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Cha
In terms of ethnic identity, the same census data reveals that the majority of individuals with the surname Cha identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, at 93.19% in 2000 and 93.52% in 2010. This represents a modest increase of 0.35%. Those identifying with two or more races decreased from 2.51% to 2.07%, while white identity fell from 2.46% to 2.09% over the same period. Interestingly, the proportion of individuals identifying as Hispanic saw an increase from 1.42% to 1.82%. However, the percentages of those identifying as Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native were suppressed in the 2010 data for privacy reasons; no changes can be reported for these categories.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 93.19% | 93.52% | 0.35% |
| White | 2.46% | 2.09% | -15.04% |
| Two or More Races | 2.51% | 2.07% | -17.53% |
| Hispanic | 1.42% | 1.82% | 28.17% |
| Black | 0.36% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.06% | 0% | 0% |
Cha ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Cha is Korean, which comprises 58.2% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Chinese (20.5%) and British & Irish (3.8%). Additional ancestries include Chinese Dai, French & German, Japanese, Spanish & Portuguese, and Filipino & Austronesian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Korean | 58.2% |
| Chinese | 20.5% |
| British & Irish | 3.8% |
| Other | 17.5% |
Possible origins of the surname Cha
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Cha have recent ancestry locations in South Korea and China.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Seoul, South Korea | 59.70% |
| Busan, South Korea | 34.30% |
| Gyeonggi Do, South Korea | 25.40% |
| Jeollabuk Do, South Korea | 25.40% |
| Daegu, South Korea | 23.10% |
What Cha haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Cha is O-F1204, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F1204 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include C-F2613 and O-M1470, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Han, Im, Yoo, Jin, Yi, Yoon, Yang, Lo, Chung, Dong.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Cha surname are: H, B5a1, D4. These most commonly trace back to individuals of East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Yayoi
Haplogroup O1b2a, a branch of haplogroup O, is closely related to several haplogroups that are commonly found in Japan. Haplogroup O is closely associated with Kyushu, Japan's third largest island, and makes up over half of all men in Japan. Although haplogroup O is prevalent in Japan, it likely only entered Japan during the Yayoi expansion about 2,300 years ago. During the Yayoi expansion, people entering from the Korean Peninsula brought wet rice agriculture, weaving technology, and metalworking technology to Japan. The Yayoi expansion began on the island of Kyushu, where haplogroup O is very common today. It is possible that some of the early members of O1-F3356 were involved in this major shift, which quickly and dramatically altered Japanese culture.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to the Han
Members of haplogroups B4 and B5 are quite frequent in both northern and southern Han Chinese populations. The Han people, who all share the same language and similar cultural practices, are the largest ethnic group in the world, with about 1.2 billion people. Historical evidence shows that Han people are descendants of the ancient Huaxia tribes that come from northern China, centered in Zhongyuan, China's Central Plain. The spread of Han people, language and culture from northern to southern China only occurred in the last 2,000 years, and was likely driven by warfare and famine in the north.
What do people with the surname Cha have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Cha" Surname 21.4%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Cheek Dimples
Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.
"Cha" Surname 31.2%
23andMe Users 37.6%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Cha" Surname 11.7%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Cha?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Cha are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition