Tse
A short surname of Chinese origin, usually representing a Cantonese-style romanization of a Chinese family name.
The #5,582 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,582 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Tse is most commonly a romanized Chinese surname. In English-language records it often reflects Cantonese or other southern Chinese pronunciations rather than a single fixed spelling in Chinese characters. Because the same Roman letters can map to several different Chinese surnames, the exact character and literal meaning depend on the family line.
History
The surname appears in overseas Chinese communities and in immigration and census records, especially where older romanization systems were used. In some cases it may correspond to surnames now more often written in pinyin as Xie, Ze, or Jie, but the spelling Tse is not unique enough to identify one source character without family-specific evidence.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In many family trees, the spelling Tse preserves an older Cantonese-style romanization that may differ from the surname’s modern mainland Chinese spelling.
From the historical record
“Walter lePackere. CO. Bedr., 1173. A. - Richard, the aoo of William tSe-aon of Orme, «jait<1ainKd the whole of hia land in PMbniy, to St. Weiberih and the Abbey. . . SimiUr eratita wert made by WiUiam, the khi of Robert Pilot, Robert, the aon of William le Pd», and”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances