Duong
An uncommon Vietnamese feminine name meaning "sweet, pure, and fresh".
Name Census estimates that about 157 living Americans carry the first name Duong. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Duong today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Duong births was 1982 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Duong. 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.
People living today
157
~ 1 in 2,183,149 Americans
Peak year
1982
15 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2002 SSA rank
#9,719
Tracked since 1978
Census
Duong in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,151 people with the first name Duong, which placed it at #5,452 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
#5,452
National first-name rank
People counted
3.2K
3,151 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Duong
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Duong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.0%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). 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 Duong 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 Duong at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.8% · 3,082
- White1.0% · 32
- Two or more races0.7% · 23
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 6
Popularity
Duong: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Duong from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 96 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
Duong 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 Duong during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Duongs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Duong
The name Duong is of Vietnamese origin, derived from the Sino-Vietnamese word "dương" meaning "masculine" or "yang" in reference to the Yin-Yang principles of balance and harmony in traditional Chinese philosophy. It traces its roots back to ancient Vietnam, where it was adopted from Chinese naming conventions during periods of cultural exchange between the two regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Duong can be found in the Annals of Dai Viet, a historical text dating back to the 13th century. This work chronicles the lives of notable figures and events during the Tran Dynasty of Vietnam. Among those mentioned is Duong Nhat Le, a renowned military strategist and advisor who played a pivotal role in defending the nation against Mongol invasions in the late 13th century.
In the realm of Vietnamese literature, the name Duong is associated with Duong Tu Giam, a celebrated poet and philosopher who lived during the 16th century. His contributions to the development of the Nom script, a writing system used to transcribe the Vietnamese language, have left a lasting impact on the country's cultural heritage.
Historically, the name Duong has been borne by several influential individuals, including Duong Van Minh, a prominent military leader who briefly served as the last president of South Vietnam in 1975 before the fall of Saigon. Another notable figure is Duong Quynh Hoa, a highly regarded artist and sculptor whose works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally, gaining recognition for her unique interpretations of traditional Vietnamese themes.
Moving into more recent times, the name Duong has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions across various fields. Duong Thu Huong, born in 1949, is a renowned Vietnamese novelist and dissident whose works have been translated into numerous languages, shedding light on the complexities of Vietnamese society and the impact of war.
Another prominent bearer of the name is Duong Tri Dung, a prominent businessman and philanthropist who has played a pivotal role in the economic development of Vietnam. His philanthropic initiatives have focused on improving education and healthcare for underprivileged communities, earning him widespread respect and admiration.
People
Duong + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Duong 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
Duong: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Duong?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 157 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Duong 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 2,183,149 US residents.
Is Duong a common name?
We classify Duong as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Duong most popular?
The single biggest year for Duong was 1982, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Duong is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Duong in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,151 people with the name Duong, or 1.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,452 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 Duong 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 Duong?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Duong on both sides of the split. Of the 3,148 people counted with this name, 2,023 were male (64.3%) and 1,125 were female (35.7%). 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 Duong?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Duong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.0%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). 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 Duong most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Duong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (3,082 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 Duong in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Duong a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Duong 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 Duong still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Duong 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 Duong 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 many people have Duong as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Duong on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.