Explore the Family Name Chain

The meaning of Chain

1. Altered form of Scottish (of Norman origin) Chiene: habitational name from Quesney, a place in Manche, France. 2. French: from Old French chain, a device for catching birds, possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a bird-catcher or a hunter.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Chain in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname "Chain" has slightly decreased over the span of a decade. In 2000, Chain ranked as the 18,188th most common surname in the United States with 1,411 bearers and a proportion of 0.52 per 100,000 people. By 2010, it dropped to rank 19,559, an overall decrease of 7.54%. The count also fell by 2.2% to 1,380 individuals or a proportion of 0.47 per 100,000 residents.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#18,188	#19,559	-7.54%
Count	1,411	1,380	-2.2%
Proportion per 100k	0.52	0.47	-9.62%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Chain

In terms of ethnicity according to the Decennial U.S. Census, there were some shifts within the bearers of the surname "Chain". The largest ethnic group remains White, with 80.65% in 2000 decreasing slightly to 79.20% in 2010. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black saw an increase from 6.87% to 8.55%, a 24.45% change over ten years. Hispanic representation also rose slightly from 5.88% to 6.16%. However, those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander experienced a slight decrease from 5.24% to 4.93%. Interestingly, the category of two or more races vanished completely in 2010, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native category remained at zero for both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	80.65%	79.2%	-1.8%
Black	6.87%	8.55%	24.45%
Hispanic	5.88%	6.16%	4.76%
Asian/Pacific Islander	5.24%	4.93%	-5.92%
Two or More Races	1.35%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%