Kwon
A masculine Korean name meaning leader or powerful.
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Kwon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kwon today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kwon births was 2001 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kwon. 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 Kwon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
2001
7 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,241
Tracked since 1974
Census
Kwon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 357 people with the first name Kwon, which placed it at #26,204 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
#26,204
National first-name rank
People counted
357
357 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
70.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kwon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kwon is Asian/Pacific Islander at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Kwon 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 Kwon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander70.6% · 252
- Black or African American20.4% · 73
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 11
- Two or more races2.8% · 10
- White2.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 4
Popularity
Kwon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kwon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kwon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kwon 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 Kwon 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 Kwon
The name Kwon has its origins in the Korean language, dating back centuries to ancient Korean history and culture. The name is derived from the Korean word "kwon," which means "power" or "authority." It is believed to have originated as a title or designation for individuals who held positions of influence or authority within Korean society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kwon can be found in the Samguk Sagi, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms period in ancient Korea (57 BC – 935 AD). In this text, the name Kwon appears as a title bestowed upon military commanders and high-ranking officials who demonstrated exceptional leadership and prowess.
During the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), the name Kwon gained further prominence as it was adopted by members of the royal family and nobility. It was often used as a middle name or a secondary name, signifying the holder's status and power within the kingdom.
Notable historical figures who bore the name Kwon include Kwon Gun (1352-1409), a renowned military leader and strategist who played a pivotal role in the Goryeo-Joseon transition period. His exploits and tactics were widely celebrated and recorded in various historical texts.
Another prominent figure was Kwon Heung-Sang (1812-1884), a scholar and politician during the later years of the Joseon Dynasty. He was known for his efforts in reforming the government and advocating for modernization, ultimately paving the way for the country's transformation into a modern state.
In the realm of arts and culture, Kwon Sang-Woo (1713-1791) was a renowned calligrapher and scholar who contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of Korean calligraphic traditions. His works are still celebrated and studied by calligraphers today.
Moving into the 20th century, Kwon Ki-Ok (1901-1988) was a prominent Korean feminist and activist who fought tirelessly for women's rights and gender equality. Her efforts and sacrifices during the Japanese occupation of Korea earned her a place in the annals of Korean history.
Another noteworthy figure was Kwon Jing-Hyok (1903-1950), a celebrated novelist and poet who explored themes of social injustice and the struggles of the Korean people during the Japanese colonial era. His literary works served as a powerful voice for the nation's fight for independence and sovereignty.
People
Kwon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kwon 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
Kwon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kwon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kwon 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 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Kwon a common name?
We classify Kwon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 39 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kwon most popular?
The single biggest year for Kwon was 2001, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kwon is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kwon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 357 people with the name Kwon, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,204 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 Kwon 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 Kwon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kwon leans strongly male. 286 people counted with this name were male (81.3%), compared with 66 female bearers (18.8%). 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 Kwon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kwon is Asian/Pacific Islander at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Kwon most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kwon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.6% (252 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 Kwon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kwon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kwon 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 Kwon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kwon 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 Kwon 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 Kwon?
Want to know how many people have the name Kwon? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.