Chiweza Surname

147,887th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,992 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Malawi
Highest density in:
Malawi

Chiweza Surname User-submission:

The Chiweza surname has two distinct roots in Malawi and in Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe Chiweza means 'the carpenter' or 'the one who carves', originating from a 19th century Chiweza who is a descendant of the Madziwa Chiftaincy of the bonga hwenje totem.

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Chiweza Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Malawi2,5621:6,682962
Zimbabwe3651:42,2976,525
Zambia461:344,56418,269
South Africa101:5,417,770150,016
Iceland21:190,0456,825
United States21:181,229,4661,556,795
Australia11:26,995,701270,794
DR Congo11:73,879,570260,543
England11:55,718,059489,080
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716

Chiweza (13) may also be a first name.

Chiweza Surname Meaning

User-submitted Reference

The Chiweza surname has two distinct roots in Malawi and in Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe Chiweza means 'the carpenter' or 'the one who carves', originating from a 19th century Chiweza who is a descendant of the Madziwa Chiftaincy of the bonga hwenje totem. Madziwa's written history in Zimbabwe is traceable to the 16th Century when the Portuguese traders first came into Zimbabwe. I understand that in Malawi Chiweza is a larger name with a different meaning. In Malawi I was told it means 'a fishing champion' and there are chieftainships behind it. In recent times some Chiwezas of Malawian descent have settled in Zimbabwe but they are distinguished by a different totem.

- davidchiweza.111

Chiweza Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Chiweza Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Chiweza is held by more people in Malawi than any other country or territory. It can occur in the variant forms:. Click here for other potential spellings of Chiweza.

How Common Is The Last Name Chiweza? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 147,887th most commonly occurring surname globally, borne by around 1 in 2,435,677 people. Chiweza is predominantly found in Africa, where 100 percent of Chiweza live; 100 percent live in Southern Africa and 100 percent live in South Bantu Africa. It is also the 3,159,357th most numerous given name on earth. It is borne by 13 people.

Chiweza is most numerous in Malawi, where it is borne by 2,562 people, or 1 in 6,682. Excluding Malawi this last name exists in 10 countries. It is also common in Zimbabwe, where 12 percent are found and Zambia, where 2 percent are found.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Chiweza
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis