Kwok
A Chinese masculine given name with meanings related to prosperity, fortune, or happiness.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Kwok. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kwok today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kwok births was 1981 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kwok. 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 Kwok with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kwok. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1981
5 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1981 SSA rank
#6,835
Tracked since 1981
Census
Kwok in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,009 people with the first name Kwok, which placed it at #7,555 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
#7,555
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,009 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
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 Kwok
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kwok is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.8%. The next largest groups are White (0.5%) and Hispanic (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 Kwok 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 Kwok at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.8% · 1,984
- White0.5% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 8
- Two or more races0.3% · 6
Popularity
Kwok: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kwok 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 Kwok during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kwok
The given name Kwok originates from the Cantonese Chinese language, which is primarily spoken in the Guangdong province of southern China and in Hong Kong. The name can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Kwok is derived from the Cantonese word "gwok," which means "nation" or "country." It is believed that the name was initially given to children as a symbol of patriotism and loyalty to one's homeland during a time of political upheaval and foreign occupation in China.
While the name Kwok does not have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its origins are deeply rooted in Chinese culture and heritage. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the late Qing Dynasty, around the late 1800s and early 1900s.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kwok was Kwok Hing, a prominent businessman and philanthropist in Hong Kong who lived from 1861 to 1941. He was known for his contributions to education and social welfare initiatives in the region.
Another notable figure was Kwok Wai-Chung, a Hong Kong actor and producer who was born in 1945. He starred in numerous Cantonese films and television shows throughout his career and was recognized for his versatility as a performer.
In the field of sports, Kwok Ting-Hung was a former professional footballer from Hong Kong who played as a midfielder for various clubs in the Hong Kong First Division League in the 1970s and 1980s.
Kwok Tsui, a Chinese-American artist and calligrapher, was born in Hong Kong in 1923 but later immigrated to the United States. He was renowned for his unique blend of traditional Chinese calligraphy and modern abstract expressionism.
Lastly, Kwok Fai-Hung, born in 1946, was a prominent Cantonese opera singer and actor who helped preserve and promote the art form throughout his career. He was recognized for his powerful vocal performances and dedicated efforts in passing on the tradition to younger generations.
While the name Kwok may have initially symbolized patriotism and national pride, it has evolved to become a respected and widely recognized name across various fields, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of its Cantonese Chinese origins.
People
Kwok + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kwok 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
Kwok: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kwok?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kwok 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Kwok a common name?
We classify Kwok as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kwok most popular?
The single biggest year for Kwok was 1981, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kwok is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kwok in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,009 people with the name Kwok, or 0.67 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,555 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 Kwok 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 Kwok?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kwok leans strongly male. 1,879 people counted with this name were male (93.4%), compared with 133 female bearers (6.6%). 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 Kwok?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kwok is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.8%. The next largest groups are White (0.5%) and Hispanic (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 Kwok most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kwok in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.8% (1,984 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 Kwok in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kwok a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kwok 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 Kwok still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kwok 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 Kwok 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 Kwok?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.