Huong
A Vietnamese feminine name meaning "fragrance" or "aroma".
Name Census estimates that about 546 living Americans carry the first name Huong. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Huong today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Huong births was 1982 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Huong. 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
546
~ 1 in 627,755 Americans
Peak year
1982
51 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2011 SSA rank
#17,795
Tracked since 1976
Census
Huong in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,699 people with the first name Huong, which placed it at #2,116 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
#2,116
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,699 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Huong
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Huong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.8%. 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 Huong 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 Huong at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.8% · 12,542
- Two or more races0.5% · 66
- White0.4% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 25
- Black or African American0.1% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 4
Popularity
Huong: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Huong 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 344 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
Huong 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 Huong during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Huongs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Huong, while Louisiana, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 77 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Huong
The given name Huong has its origins in the Vietnamese language. It is a unisex name that has been in use for centuries within Vietnam and the surrounding regions influenced by Vietnamese culture.
Huong is derived from the Vietnamese word "huong" which means "fragrance" or "aroma." This connection to pleasant scents and fragrances likely stems from the importance of incense, flowers, and aromatic herbs in Vietnamese traditions and customs.
While the exact origins of the name are unclear, it is believed to have been in use as early as the 10th century during the Ly Dynasty in Vietnam. References to individuals named Huong can be found in ancient Vietnamese poetry and literature from this time period.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Huong is Huong Tram, a female poet who lived during the 13th century in what is now northern Vietnam. Her poetry, which often referenced nature and fragrant flowers, has been preserved and is still studied today.
Another notable historical figure with the name Huong was Huong Phi Hiep, a male military leader and strategist who lived in the 15th century during the Later Le Dynasty. He is credited with helping to repel Chinese invasions and is remembered for his tactical brilliance on the battlefield.
In the 16th century, there was a Buddhist monk named Huong Hai who was renowned for his wisdom and teachings. His writings on mindfulness and spirituality are still studied by Vietnamese Buddhists today.
During the 19th century, a female activist and writer named Huong Nhu Quynh used the pen name "Huong Tram" in honor of the famous 13th century poet. She advocated for women's rights and education in Vietnam and her works were influential in shaping modern Vietnamese literature.
Another notable individual with the name Huong was Huong Linh, a male artist and calligrapher who lived in the early 20th century. His intricate calligraphic works and ink paintings are highly regarded and can be found in museums throughout Vietnam and beyond.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Huong, a name that carries with it a rich cultural heritage and associations with fragrance, poetry, and artistic expression.
People
Huong + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Huong 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
Huong: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Huong?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 546 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Huong 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 627,755 US residents.
Is Huong a common name?
We classify Huong as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 578 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Huong most popular?
The single biggest year for Huong was 1982, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Huong is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Huong in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,699 people with the name Huong, or 4.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,116 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 Huong 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 Huong?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Huong leans strongly female. 11,835 people counted with this name were female (93.2%), compared with 865 male 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 Huong?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Huong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.8%. 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 Huong most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Huong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.8% (12,542 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 Huong in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Huong a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Huong 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 Huong still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Huong 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 Huong 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 called Huong?
You can see how many Americans are named Huong on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.