Hayoung
A feminine Korean name meaning "wise" or "bright".
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Hayoung. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hayoung today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hayoung births was 1993 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hayoung. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hayoung. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1993
7 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2010 SSA rank
#17,987
Tracked since 1993
Census
Hayoung in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 454 people with the first name Hayoung, which placed it at #22,080 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
#22,080
National first-name rank
People counted
454
454 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hayoung
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hayoung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Hayoung 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 Hayoung at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.6% · 434
- White3.3% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 4
- Two or more races0.2% · 1
Popularity
Hayoung: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hayoung from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 7 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Hayoung remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hayoung 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 Hayoung during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hayoung
The name Hayoung is of Korean origin and has its roots in the ancient Korean language. It is a combination of two words, "ha" meaning "vast" or "great," and "young," meaning "brave" or "courageous." The name dates back to the Three Kingdoms period of ancient Korea, which lasted from around the 1st century BCE to the 7th century CE.
During this time period, the Korean peninsula was divided into three kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. It is believed that the name Hayoung was first used among the noble families of the Goguryeo kingdom, which occupied the northern part of the peninsula and parts of Manchuria. The name was likely given to sons born into these families as a way to bestow upon them the qualities of greatness and bravery.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hayoung can be found in the Samguk Sagi, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms period written in the 12th century CE. The text mentions a Goguryeo general named Hayoung who led his troops in a decisive victory against the rival kingdom of Baekje in the 6th century CE.
Throughout the centuries, the name Hayoung has been carried by various notable figures in Korean history. One of the most famous was Hayoung Kim (1476-1534), a prominent scholar and government official during the Joseon Dynasty. He was known for his contributions to the development of Korean literature and his expertise in Confucian philosophy.
Another notable Hayoung was Hayoung Park (1561-1642), a renowned military leader and strategist who played a crucial role in defending Korea against Japanese invasions in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His tactical brilliance and leadership skills were instrumental in securing important victories for the Korean forces.
In more recent times, Hayoung Lee (1908-1986) was a respected artist and calligrapher who helped preserve and promote traditional Korean art forms. His works are celebrated for their elegance and mastery of the brush.
Hayoung Choi (1937-2003) was a pioneering Korean sculptor who gained international recognition for his abstract and modernist sculptures. His works often explored themes of harmony and balance, reflecting his deep understanding of traditional Korean aesthetics.
While the name Hayoung continues to be used in modern times, its historical roots and connotations of greatness and bravery remain deeply ingrained in its meaning and cultural significance within Korean society.
People
Hayoung + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hayoung as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hayoung: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hayoung?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hayoung 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Hayoung a common name?
We classify Hayoung as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hayoung most popular?
The single biggest year for Hayoung was 1993, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hayoung is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hayoung in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 454 people with the name Hayoung, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,080 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 Hayoung 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 Hayoung?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hayoung leans strongly female. 387 people counted with this name were female (84.7%), compared with 70 male bearers (15.3%). 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 Hayoung?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hayoung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Hayoung most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Hayoung in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (434 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 Hayoung in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hayoung a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hayoung in the SSA data are female. 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 Hayoung still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hayoung 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 Hayoung 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 Hayoung?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Hayoung on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.