Kwan
Chinese unisex name meaning "waterway" or "river".
Name Census estimates that about 535 living Americans carry the first name Kwan. It is a predominantly male name (95.2% of registrations). The average person named Kwan today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kwan births was 1976 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kwan. 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
535
~ 1 in 640,662 Americans
Peak year
1976
25 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,046
Tracked since 1969
Census
Kwan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,863 people with the first name Kwan, which placed it at #7,927 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
#7,927
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,863 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
74.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kwan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kwan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Kwan 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 Kwan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander74.7% · 1,391
- Black or African American19.8% · 369
- Two or more races2.6% · 48
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 27
- White1.1% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Kwan
Kwan leans heavily male at 95.2% of total registrations, but 27 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kwan as a male name
- Ranked #13,474 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1975 (21 births)
Kwan as a female name
- Ranked #10,046 in 1976
- 5 female births in 1976
- Peak: 1970 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kwan on both sides of the split. Of the 1,853 people counted with this name, 1,342 were male (72.4%) and 511 were female (27.6%).
Popularity
Kwan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kwan from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 160 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kwan 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 Kwan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kwans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kwan
The name Kwan has its origins in Chinese culture, stemming from the Mandarin Chinese language. The earliest records of the name can be traced back to ancient China, where it was derived from the word "guan," meaning "official" or "authority."
In traditional Chinese society, the name Kwan was often given to sons born into noble or influential families, reflecting the aspiration for the child to grow into a position of prominence and leadership. This name held a significant cultural and symbolic meaning, conveying a sense of respect and admiration.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kwan can be found in the historical records of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), where it was borne by several high-ranking officials and scholars. During this period, the name was closely associated with the elite ruling class and the pursuit of knowledge and governance.
Throughout the centuries, the name Kwan has been carried by numerous notable figures in Chinese history. One such individual was Kwan Yu (162-219 AD), a famous general and warrior who played a pivotal role in the turbulent era of the Three Kingdoms period. His exploits and loyalty were celebrated in literary works and folk tales, further cementing the name's association with valor and integrity.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Kwan Zhong (645-713 AD), a revered poet and statesman during the Tang Dynasty. His works, which explored themes of nature, philosophy, and governance, earned him widespread recognition and immortalized the name Kwan in the realm of literature and intellectual pursuits.
In the realm of religion, the name Kwan also held significance. Kwan Yin, the Chinese Buddhist deity of compassion, was a revered figure whose name embodied qualities of mercy and benevolence. Temples and shrines dedicated to Kwan Yin can be found throughout China and other parts of East Asia, further solidifying the name's cultural and spiritual resonance.
As Chinese culture spread its influence throughout Asia, the name Kwan also found its way into other regions and languages. In Japan, for example, the name is rendered as "Kan," while in Korea, it is known as "Gwan." These variations reflect the linguistic adaptations and cultural exchanges that occurred over the centuries.
While the name Kwan has maintained a strong presence in Chinese and East Asian communities, it has also transcended cultural boundaries and gained recognition worldwide. Individuals such as Kwan Tak-Hing (1905-1996), a prominent Chinese-American author and playwright, and Kwan Yin (1884-1944), a Chinese-American pioneer in the field of physics, have carried the name with distinction and contributed to its global recognition.
People
Kwan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kwan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kwan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kwan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 535 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kwan 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 640,662 US residents.
Is Kwan a common name?
We classify Kwan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 557 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kwan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kwan was 1976, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kwan 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 Kwan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,863 people with the name Kwan, or 0.62 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,927 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 Kwan 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 Kwan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kwan on both sides of the split. Of the 1,853 people counted with this name, 1,342 were male (72.4%) and 511 were female (27.6%). 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 Kwan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kwan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Kwan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kwan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.7% (1,391 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 Kwan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kwan a male name?
Yes, 95.2% of people registered as Kwan 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 Kwan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kwan 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 Kwan 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 share the name Kwan?
Want to know how many people have the name Kwan? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.