Kying
An English-language feminine name of uncertain meaning or origin.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Kying. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kying today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kying births was 2017 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kying. 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 Kying. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2017
5 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2017 SSA rank
#13,411
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Kying: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kying 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 Kying during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kying
The name Kying has its origins in the ancient Khmer language of Cambodia, dating back to the Khmer Empire which ruled much of Southeast Asia from the 9th to 15th centuries AD. It is derived from the Khmer word "kyung," meaning "golden" or "precious."
The name is believed to have been first recorded in the 12th century, during the reign of the powerful Khmer king Jayavarman VII, who ruled from 1181 to 1218 AD. Kying was a common name among members of the royal court and nobility during this period of Khmer history.
One of the earliest known references to the name Kying can be found in the inscriptions carved on the walls of the Bayon temple in Angkor Thom, the capital of the Khmer Empire. These inscriptions, which date back to the late 12th century, mention a high-ranking official named Kying who was involved in the construction of the temple.
Throughout Khmer history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kying. One of the most famous was Kying Chan (c. 1350-1420), a renowned Khmer scholar and poet who served as a court advisor during the reigns of several Khmer kings in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
Another notable Kying was Kying Srun (1492-1566), a Khmer military leader and governor who played a key role in defending the Khmer Empire against the expansionist ambitions of the neighboring Siamese Kingdom (now Thailand) in the mid-16th century.
In the 18th century, Kying Huot (1720-1793) was a prominent Khmer Buddhist monk and scholar who is credited with preserving many ancient Khmer texts and teachings during a period of political turmoil and upheaval in the region.
Kying Srey (1845-1921) was a Khmer princess and patron of the arts who helped to preserve and promote traditional Khmer music, dance, and literature during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the name Kying is rooted in Khmer history and culture, it has also been adopted by other ethnic groups in Southeast Asia, particularly in areas with significant Khmer influence or populations.
People
Kying + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kying 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
Kying: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kying?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kying 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 Kying a common name?
We classify Kying 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 Kying most popular?
The single biggest year for Kying was 2017, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kying is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kying in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kying a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kying 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 Kying still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kying 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 Kying 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Kying as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.