Choi (Korean surname)


Choi is a common Korean family name. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were 2,333,927 people by this name in South Korea or roughly 4.7% of the population. In English-speaking countries, it is most often anglicized Choi, and sometimes also Choe or Chwe. Ethnic Koreans in the former USSR prefer the form Tsoi especially as a transcription of the Cyrillic Цой.

Origin

There are roughly 160 clans of Chois. Most of these are quite small. However, Choi is the 4th most common surname in Korea. The largest by far is the Gyeongju Choi clan, with a 2000 South Korean population of 976,820. The Gyeongju Choe claim the Silla scholar Choe Chi-won as their founder.
Choi is written with the Hanja character, meaning "a governor who oversees the land and the mountain". The surname Choi also means mountain or pinnacle.
Choi, originally written in Hanja, is derived from the combination of 2 ancient Chinese characters:
In Korean, 최 is usually pronounced "Chwe" except by some older speakers who pronounce it . In English, it is most often pronounced "Choy", which sounds clearly different to its proper pronunciation.
崔 is Romanized as Cuī and pronounced in Mandarin Chinese. It is Chēui in Cantonese and Chhui in Hokkien.

Prominent people of the past