Explore the Family Name Chaya

The meaning of Chaya

Arabic (Lebanon): French-influenced variant of Shaya. It is found among both Muslims and Christians. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Gazi, Ibrahim, Izzat, Karim, Nabih, Siham, Walid.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname "Chaya" has seen a rise in its popularity over the decade from 2000 to 2010. The rank of this surname jumped from 68,569 in 2000 to 60,790 in 2010, showing an increase of 11.34%. In terms of count, there were 268 individuals with the 'Chaya' surname in 2000 and this figure rose to 331 in 2010, marking a significant growth of 23.51%. The proportion per 100k also increased by 10% during this period, from 0.1 to 0.11.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#68,569	#60,790	11.34%
Count	268	331	23.51%
Proportion per 100k	0.1	0.11	10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Chaya

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insight into the ethnicity associated with the surname 'Chaya'. From 2000 to 2010, there was a notable increase in the number of people with this surname identifying as White, with figures rising from 80.22% to 83.08%, an increase of 3.57%. The percentage of Chayas identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander also grew, from 6.34% to 7.25% - a 14.35% increase. However, those identifying with two or more races decreased sharply from 7.46% to 4.23%, a drop of 43.30%. The Hispanic group saw a slight decrease from 4.48% to 4.23%, representing a 5.58% change. There was no change within the Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native categories as these remained at 0% for both census years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	80.22%	83.08%	3.57%
Asian/Pacific Islander	6.34%	7.25%	14.35%
Two or More Races	7.46%	4.23%	-43.3%
Hispanic	4.48%	4.23%	-5.58%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%