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Che Family History

Che Surname Meaning

Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 車 meaning ‘carriage’ or ‘cart’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by descendants of Che Ou (車區), an astrologist during the reign of the legendary Huang Di, the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (ii) Shortened form of the surname Zi Che (子車), a surname of noblemen in the state of Qin. (iii) From Che Cheng Xiang (車丞相), literally ‘Carriage Prime Minister’, the title of Tian Qianqiu, a prime minister during the Western Han dynasty (206 BC–25 AD). He earned the title because when he was old and decrepit, Emperor Zhao of Han (94–74 BC) took pity on him and allowed him to move into and out of the palace by carriage instead of on foot.

(iv) Adopted as a surname by the Che Kun (車裩) and Che Fei (車非) families from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 謝 see Xie.

Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 齊 see Qi. Vietnamese (Chế): written 制 in Chinese of unexplained etymology. It is found among the Cham people in southern Vietnam.

Korean: variant of Chae. Amerindian (Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize; also Ché): Mayan name from che' ‘tree, wood’.

Catalan (Valencia): nickname from xe ‘typical person from Valencia’ (from the interjection xe!).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Che family from?

You can see how Che families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Che family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Che families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 11 Che families living in British Columbia. This was about 39% of all the recorded Che's in Canada. British Columbia had the highest population of Che families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Che surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Che ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Weaver were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Che. 50% of Che men worked as a Farmer and 100% of Che women worked as a Weaver.

View Census Data for Che | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

United States shown, Canada data unavailable

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    50%
  • Machinist
    50%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Weaver
    100%

What Che family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 4,000 census records available for the last name Che. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Che census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Che

Passenger Lists

There are 3,000 immigration records available for the last name Che. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Che immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 612 military records available for the last name Che. For the veterans among your Che ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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You've only scratched the surface of Che family history

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What is the average Che lifespan?

Between 1964 and 2004, in the United States, Che life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1990, and highest in 1995. The average life expectancy for Che in 1964 was 59, and 72 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Che

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Che ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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