Hoa
A gender-neutral Vietnamese name meaning "flower" or "blossom".
Name Census estimates that about 507 living Americans carry the first name Hoa. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Hoa today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hoa births was 1982 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hoa. 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 Hoa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
507
~ 1 in 676,044 Americans
Peak year
1982
48 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2004 SSA rank
#12,018
Tracked since 1975
Census
Hoa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 14,415 people with the first name Hoa, which placed it at #1,942 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
#1,942
National first-name rank
People counted
14K
14,415 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hoa is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.5%) and White (0.4%). 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 Hoa 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 Hoa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.7% · 14,233
- Two or more races0.5% · 72
- White0.4% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 30
- Black or African American0.1% · 16
Gender
Gender distribution for Hoa
Hoa is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 532 total registrations, 262 (49.2%) were male and 270 (50.8%) were female.
Hoa as a male name
- Ranked #12,018 in 2004
- 5 male births in 2004
- Peak: 1981 (21 births)
Hoa as a female name
- Ranked #12,390 in 1996
- 6 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1982 (27 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hoa on both sides of the split. Of the 14,424 people counted with this name, 4,826 were male (33.5%) and 9,598 were female (66.5%).
Popularity
Hoa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hoa 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 320 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
Hoa 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 Hoa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hoas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hoa
The name Hoa has its origins in the Vietnamese language and culture, dating back several centuries. It is believed to be derived from the old Vietnamese word "hoa," which means "flower" or "blossom." This connection to nature and beauty has made the name a popular choice among Vietnamese parents.
In ancient Vietnamese texts and folklore, the name Hoa was often associated with grace, elegance, and femininity. It was a common name given to daughters, symbolizing the hope that they would blossom into strong and beautiful women.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Hoa can be found in the 15th century, when a Vietnamese princess named Hoa Thi was recorded as being a skilled poet and calligrapher. Her works were celebrated for their delicate and poetic nature, reflecting the essence of the name itself.
Throughout the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Hoa. In the 17th century, Hoa Nguyen was a renowned Vietnamese scholar and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of Confucian studies. Her writings were widely read and influenced generations of Vietnamese intellectuals.
In the 19th century, Hoa Van Nguyen was a prominent Vietnamese revolutionary who fought against French colonial rule. Her bravery and dedication to the cause of independence earned her a place in the annals of Vietnamese history.
Another famous Hoa was Hoa Pham, a Vietnamese-American author and activist who lived from 1938 to 2019. Her works explored themes of identity, feminism, and the immigrant experience, shedding light on the complexities of navigating multiple cultural worlds.
In the realm of entertainment, Hoa Tran was a celebrated Vietnamese actress and singer who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. Her captivating performances on stage and screen earned her a devoted following, and she remains an iconic figure in Vietnamese popular culture.
Hoa Thanh Tran, born in 1955, is a renowned Vietnamese-American sculptor and installation artist. Her works, often incorporating traditional Vietnamese materials and motifs, explore themes of cultural identity, displacement, and the human experience.
People
Hoa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hoa 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
Hoa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hoa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 507 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hoa 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 676,044 US residents.
Is Hoa a common name?
We classify Hoa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 532 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hoa most popular?
The single biggest year for Hoa was 1982, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hoa 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 Hoa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 14,415 people with the name Hoa, or 4.77 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,942 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 Hoa 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 Hoa?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hoa on both sides of the split. Of the 14,424 people counted with this name, 4,826 were male (33.5%) and 9,598 were female (66.5%). 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 Hoa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hoa is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.5%) and White (0.4%). 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 Hoa most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Hoa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.7% (14,233 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 Hoa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hoa a female name?
Yes, 50.8% of people registered as Hoa 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 Hoa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hoa 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 Hoa 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 are named Hoa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.