Explore the Family Name Chawla

The meaning of Chawla

Indian (Punjab): Arora and Sikh name based on the name of a clan in the Arora community, which was apparently named with čāwəl ‘rice’. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Sanjay, Rajesh, Rajeev, Raj, Satish, Amar, Arvind, Ashok, Harish, Jag, Jagdish, Madhu.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Chawla has significantly increased between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname rose from 18582 in 2000 to 13612 in 2010, marking a substantial improvement of 26.75%. The count of individuals with the surname also escalated from 1369 to 2226, indicating a 62.6% increase. Proportionally, for every 100,000 people, there was an increase of 47.06%, from 0.51 in 2000 to 0.75 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#18,582	#13,612	26.75%
Count	1,369	2,226	62.6%
Proportion per 100k	0.51	0.75	47.06%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Chawla

The ethnic distribution of the surname Chawla, as per the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, reveals a majority identity as Asian/Pacific Islander. In 2000, approximately 89.92% of the bearers identified as such, and this percentage rose slightly to 92.14% in 2010. Those identifying with two or more ethnicities decreased by 57.73%, from 5.11% to 2.16%. A small proportion identified as White, with a modest increase from 4.24% to 4.27%. Hispanic representation also grew, albeit from a low base, doubling from 0.58% to 1.12%. There were no individuals who identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	89.92%	92.14%	2.47%
White	4.24%	4.27%	0.71%
Two or More Races	5.11%	2.16%	-57.73%
Hispanic	0.58%	1.12%	93.1%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%