Duc
A Vietnamese masculine name meaning a high-ranking nobleman or leader.
Name Census estimates that about 407 living Americans carry the first name Duc. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Duc today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Duc births was 1982 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Duc. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Duc with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
407
~ 1 in 842,148 Americans
Peak year
1982
24 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,804
Tracked since 1975
Census
Duc in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,295 people with the first name Duc, which placed it at #3,041 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,041
National first-name rank
People counted
7.3K
7,295 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Duc
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Duc is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.0%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Duc described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Duc at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.0% · 7,148
- White0.7% · 49
- Two or more races0.6% · 42
- Black or African American0.4% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 28
Popularity
Duc: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Duc from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 164 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Duc by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Duc during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ducs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Duc
The name Duc originated from the Vietnamese language and culture. It is a shortened form of the Vietnamese word "duc" which means "virtue" or "moral integrity." The name dates back several centuries and was particularly popular among the aristocratic and scholarly classes in Vietnam.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Duc can be found in the Annals of Dai Viet, a historical text from the 13th century that chronicles the history of the Tran Dynasty in Vietnam. The name appears frequently in reference to various scholars, officials, and members of the royal family during this period.
In Vietnamese folklore and literature, the name Duc is often associated with wisdom, righteousness, and moral fortitude. It symbolizes the Confucian ideals of virtue and propriety that were highly valued in traditional Vietnamese society.
One notable historical figure with the name Duc was Duc Duc Tong, a renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk who lived in the 14th century. He was known for his profound teachings and his role in promoting Buddhism during a time of political turmoil.
Another prominent individual named Duc was Duc Duc Chinh, a Vietnamese military leader and strategist who played a pivotal role in the resistance against the Mongol invasions of Vietnam in the 13th century. His brilliant tactics and leadership were instrumental in defending the country's sovereignty.
In the 19th century, Duc Duc Nhuong was a revered Vietnamese poet and scholar who was celebrated for his elegantly crafted verse and his mastery of classical Chinese literature. His works continue to be studied and appreciated in Vietnam today.
The name Duc also appears in the historical records of other Southeast Asian countries with strong cultural ties to Vietnam, such as Cambodia and Laos. For instance, Duc Duc Ngon was a respected Buddhist monk and scholar in 17th century Cambodia, known for his contributions to Khmer literature and religious thought.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals named Duc was Duc Duc Minh, a Vietnamese diplomat and politician who served as the President of South Vietnam from 1963 to 1964. He played a significant role in the Vietnamese struggle for independence and the subsequent conflict with North Vietnam.
People
Duc + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Duc as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Duc: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Duc?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 407 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Duc going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 842,148 US residents.
Is Duc a common name?
We classify Duc as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 421 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Duc most popular?
The single biggest year for Duc was 1982, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Duc is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Duc in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,295 people with the name Duc, or 2.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,041 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Duc in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Duc?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Duc leans strongly male. 6,810 people counted with this name were male (93.2%), compared with 493 female bearers (6.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Duc?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Duc is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.0%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Duc most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Duc in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (7,148 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Duc in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Duc a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Duc in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Duc still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Duc in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Duc can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Duc?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.