Ching
Usually a surname that grew from a place-name like Chinn or Chine, with the added -g likely coming in later.
The #4,772 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,627 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest old dictionary explanation treats Ching as a variant of Chinn, ultimately from a place called Chine. In this sense, it refers to someone who lived by or came from a chine, meaning a narrow gorge, cleft, or chasm in the ground or cliff. The final -g is generally taken as a later excrescent sound rather than part of the original name.
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers linked Ching especially with records from Cambridgeshire and related forms such as Chinn, Chine, Chyne, and Shinn. The name appears in English records at least by the medieval period, though the exact line of development from place-name to surname is not always straightforward. Later bearers in Britain and then overseas helped spread the surname, especially in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname scholars explicitly noted that the -g in Ching looks like an added sound, not the original root.
From the historical record
“Ching, Chlnn , Sblim— Local , ' al the chine,' from residence hereby. A chioe was a crevice 3r chasm; cf. BUck Gang Chine, irShanklin Chine. IntheH.E.D.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances