Ching is a Chinese and English surname.

Origins

As a

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicization, Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, Korea, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, ...

, Ching may be a romanisation of the pronunciations in different

varieties of Chinese There are hundreds of local Chinese language varieties forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language family, many of which are not Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the m ...

of the following surnames, listed based on their

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

romanisation (which reflects the

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

pronunciation): * Jing (various characters and tones), spelled Ching in the

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...

romanization of Mandarin Chinese, which was common up to the 20th century and remains widespread in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

: ** () ** () ** () ** () ** () * Qing (various characters and tones), spelled Ch'ing in

: ** ( zh, labels=no, c= ) ** Qíng ( zh, links=no, c= ) ** ( zh, links=no, t=, s=庆, first=t) * Chéng (), spelled Ching based on its

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

pronunciation * Zhuāng (), spelled Ching based on its pronunciation in various

Southern Min Southern Min (), Minnan ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Chinese languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwa ...

dialects Ching is also a Cornish surname, from the

Cornish dialect The Cornish dialect (also known as Cornish English, Anglo-Cornish or Cornu-English) is a dialect of English spoken in Cornwall by Cornish people. Dialectal English spoken in Cornwall is to some extent influenced by Cornish grammar, and often i ...

form of the surname Chinn, which originated as a nickname for people with distinctive

chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

Statistics

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Ching was among the 200-most-common peculiarly Chinese surnames in a 2010 survey of the Registered Persons Database of Canadian health card recipients in the province. According to statistics compiled by

Patrick Hanks Patrick Wyndham Hanks (24 March 1940 – 1 February 2024) was an English lexicographer, corpus linguist, and onomastician. He edited dictionaries of general language, as well as dictionaries of personal names. Background Hanks was educated a ...

on the basis of the

2011 United Kingdom census A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...

and the

Census of Ireland 2011 The 2011 census of Ireland was held on Sunday, 10 April 2011. It was administered by the Central Statistics Office of Ireland and found the population to be 4,588,252 people.

, 493 people on the island of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and two on the island of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

bore the surname Ching as of 2011. In the

1881 United Kingdom census The United Kingdom Census of 1881 recorded the people residing in every household on the night of Sunday 3 April 1881, and was the fifth of the Census in the United Kingdom, UK censuses to include details of household members. Data recorded Detail ...

there had been 476 people with the surname Dann, primarily at

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and neighbouring

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. The 2010 United States Census found 7,417 people with the surname Ching, making it the 4,772nd-most-common name in the country. against 6,919 people (4,683rd-most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, about seven-tenths of the bearers of the surname identified as non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander, about nine percent as

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, and between four and six percent as

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

of any ethnicity. It was the 211th-most-common surname among Asian and Pacific Islanders.

People

Academia

* Emily S. C. Ching (; ), Hong Kong theoretical physicist * Frank Ching (born 1943), American architecture and design graphics writer and academic * Julia Ching (; 1934–2001), Chinese-born professor of religion, philosophy and East Asian studies in Canada * Pao-yu Ching (; born 1937), Chinese-born American Marxist–Leninist–Maoist economist * Ren-Chang Ching (; 1898–1986), Chinese botanist * Te May Ching (''nee'' Tsou; 1923–2020), Chinese-born agronomist in the United States * Wai-Yim Ching (born 1945), Chinese-born physicist in the United States

Entertainment

* Carla Ching (), American playwright, television writer, and teacher * Joyce Ching (born 1995), Filipino actress and model * Larry Ching (1921–2003), American nightclub singer * Ching Li (; 1945–2017), Hong Kong actress * Ching Miao (; 1913–1989), Hong Kong actor *

Ross Ching Ross Ching is an American filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California. Early life and education Ching grew up in San Jose, California. He started making skateboarding videos as a teenager. Ching went on to study film at San Diego State Universit ...

(born ), American filmmaker *

Ching Siu-tung Ching Siu-tung (Chinese: 程小東, born October 31, 1953), also known as Tony Ching, is a Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, film director and producer, who has directed over 20 films, including the critically acclaimed supernatural fantasy ...

(; born 1953), Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, film director and producer * William Ching (1913–1989), American actor Surname of stage name: * Ching Lau Lauro (), stage name of a juggler and magician, possibly an Italian bandsman named Lauro Cecconi (1807–1892) * Ching Ling Foo (), stage name of the Chinese magician Chee Ling Qua (; 1854–1922)

Government and politics

Charles Ching Charles Arthur Ching ( zh, t=沈澄, 7 October 1935http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr99-00/english/panels/ajls/papers/2387e04.pdf –30 November 2000) was a judge in Hong Kong. Born Charles Arthur Ching into an intellectual family in Hong Kong, Chin ...

(; 1935–2000), Hong Kong barrister and judge * Ching Cheung-ying (; born 1958), Hong Kong politician and schoolteacher * Cyrus S. Ching (1876–1967), Canadian-American industrialist, federal civil servant and labor union mediator * UK Ching (1937–2014), Bangladeshi freedom fighter * Tautoloitua Sauasetoa Ho Ching, American Samoan politician

Sport

* Brian Ching (born 1978), American soccer executive and retired player * Danny Ching (), American standup paddleboarder * Ching Hong Aik (; born 1973), Malaysian former footballer * Ian Ching (1928–2006), New Zealand cricketer * Laura Lee Ching (born 1951), American surfer * Ching Siu Nga (; born 1987), Hong Kong racewalking athlete

Other

* Jeffrey Ching (born 1965), Filipino classical composer * Mariano Ching (), Filipino artist * Michael Ching (born 1958), American composer * Patrick Ching (born ), American conservationist, wildlife artist, ornithological illustrator and author of children's books * Raymond Ching (born 1939), New Zealand painter

References

{{surname, Ching Chinese-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames