Mung
A unisex name of uncertain origin, possibly related to the mung bean.
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the first name Mung. It is a predominantly male name (96.3% of registrations). The average person named Mung today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mung births was 2017 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mung. 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
133
~ 1 in 2,577,100 Americans
Peak year
2017
17 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,563
Tracked since 2011
Census
Mung in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 677 people with the first name Mung, which placed it at #16,602 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
#16,602
National first-name rank
People counted
677
677 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mung
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.0%) and Hispanic (0.3%). 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 Mung 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 Mung at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.2% · 665
- White1.0% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Mung
Mung leans heavily male at 96.3% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mung as a male name
- Ranked #9,563 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (16 births)
Mung as a female name
- Ranked #17,628 in 2017
- 5 female births in 2017
- Peak: 2017 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mung on both sides of the split. Of the 673 people counted with this name, 399 were male (59.3%) and 274 were female (40.7%).
Popularity
Mung: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mung from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 92 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mung remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mung 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 Mung during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mungs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mung
The name Mung has its origins in the Austronesian languages spoken in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands. It is believed to have emerged around the 2nd century AD, derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word *muŋ, which meant "to sprout" or "to grow".
In ancient times, the name Mung was commonly used by various Austronesian cultures, particularly those in the Maritime Southeast Asia region, such as the Malays, Javanese, and Balinese. It was often given to children as a symbol of growth, fertility, and new beginnings.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Mung can be found in the Nagarakretagama, a 14th-century Javanese prose-poem written during the Majapahit empire. It mentions a prince named Mung Sari, who was a member of the royal family.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Mung. One of the most prominent was Mung Phurita (1242-1317), a renowned Buddhist monk and scholar from the Sukhothai Kingdom in present-day Thailand. He is credited with translating numerous sacred texts from Pali into the Thai language, contributing significantly to the spread of Buddhism in the region.
Another historical figure was Mung Batu (1568-1628), a Malay warrior and admiral who played a crucial role in the Aceh Sultanate's defense against the Portuguese during the 16th and 17th centuries. He is celebrated as a national hero in Indonesia for his bravery and military achievements.
In the 18th century, Mung Kuning (1720-1788) was a revered Balinese artist and architect known for his intricate wood carvings and temple designs. His works have become iconic representations of Balinese culture and are studied by artists and scholars alike.
Mung Bua (1865-1932) was a influential Thai writer and poet during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works, which often explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality, helped shape the modern Thai literary tradition and are still widely read today.
While the name Mung may have fallen out of common usage in recent times, its historical significance and cultural roots continue to be celebrated and studied by linguists, historians, and anthropologists interested in the rich heritage of Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.
People
Mung + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mung as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mung: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mung?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 133 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mung 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 2,577,100 US residents.
Is Mung a common name?
We classify Mung as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 134 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mung most popular?
The single biggest year for Mung was 2017, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mung is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mung in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 677 people with the name Mung, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,602 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 Mung 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 Mung?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mung on both sides of the split. Of the 673 people counted with this name, 399 were male (59.3%) and 274 were female (40.7%). 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 Mung?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.0%) and Hispanic (0.3%). 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 Mung most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mung in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (665 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 Mung in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mung a male name?
Yes, 96.3% of people registered as Mung 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 Mung still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mung 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 Mung 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 common is the name Mung?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Mung at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.