Nguyen
A Vietnamese name meaning "musical instrument" or "to pursue humanities".
Name Census estimates that about 575 living Americans carry the first name Nguyen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Nguyen today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nguyen births was 1982 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nguyen. 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 Nguyen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
575
~ 1 in 596,095 Americans
Peak year
1982
29 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,883
Tracked since 1975
Census
Nguyen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,883 people with the first name Nguyen, which placed it at #3,164 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
#3,164
National first-name rank
People counted
6.9K
6,883 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nguyen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nguyen is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Nguyen 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 Nguyen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.8% · 6,666
- White1.2% · 82
- Two or more races0.8% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 41
- Black or African American0.5% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Nguyen
Nguyen leans heavily male at 80.3% of total registrations, but 117 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nguyen as a male name
- Ranked #11,883 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1982 (19 births)
Nguyen as a female name
- Ranked #18,791 in 2012
- 5 female births in 2012
- Peak: 1992 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nguyen on both sides of the split. Of the 6,887 people counted with this name, 4,203 were male (61.0%) and 2,684 were female (39.0%).
Popularity
Nguyen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nguyen from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 178 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nguyen 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 Nguyen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nguyens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Louisiana, Texas recorded the most babies named Nguyen, while Texas, Louisiana, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nguyen
The name Nguyen originated from the Vietnamese language and is believed to have roots dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the ancient Vietnamese word "Rửa," which means "to bathe" or "to purify." The name was initially associated with individuals who lived near rivers or bodies of water, and it was a common practice to bathe in these water sources for purification purposes.
In ancient Vietnamese culture, names often reflected one's occupation, location, or personal characteristics. The name Nguyen gained popularity among families who resided near rivers or worked in professions related to water, such as fishermen or boatmen. As the name evolved, it became more widely adopted across different regions of Vietnam.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Nguyen can be found in historical documents and records from the 16th century. One notable example is Nguyen Trai, a renowned Vietnamese philosopher, poet, and politician who lived from 1380 to 1442. He is celebrated for his contributions to Vietnamese literature and his influential role in the Lam Son uprising against the Ming Dynasty.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Nguyen is Nguyen Hue, also known as Emperor Quang Trung (1753-1792). He was a celebrated military leader who led the Tay Son rebellion against the Nguyen lords and later became the Emperor of Vietnam. His victory over the Qing Chinese forces at the Battle of Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da in 1789 is considered one of the most significant military achievements in Vietnamese history.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Nguyen became closely associated with the Nguyen lords, a powerful feudal family that ruled over the southern region of Vietnam. Nguyen Phuc Anh, also known as Emperor Gia Long (1762-1820), was the founder of the Nguyen Dynasty, which ruled over Vietnam from 1802 to 1945.
In the realm of literature, Nguyen Du (1766-1820) is celebrated as one of the most influential Vietnamese poets and writers. His masterpiece, "The Tale of Kieu," is considered a pinnacle of Vietnamese literature and has been widely studied and admired for its poetic beauty and profound insights into human nature.
Nguyen Trai, Nguyen Hue, Emperor Gia Long, and Nguyen Du are just a few examples of notable historical figures who bore the name Nguyen and made significant contributions to Vietnamese culture, politics, and literature throughout the centuries.
People
Nguyen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nguyen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nguyen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nguyen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 575 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nguyen 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 596,095 US residents.
Is Nguyen a common name?
We classify Nguyen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 594 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nguyen most popular?
The single biggest year for Nguyen was 1982, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nguyen is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nguyen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,883 people with the name Nguyen, or 2.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,164 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 Nguyen 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 Nguyen?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nguyen on both sides of the split. Of the 6,887 people counted with this name, 4,203 were male (61.0%) and 2,684 were female (39.0%). 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 Nguyen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nguyen is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Nguyen most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nguyen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.8% (6,666 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 Nguyen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nguyen a male name?
Yes, 80.3% of people registered as Nguyen 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 Nguyen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nguyen 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 Nguyen 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 have the name Nguyen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.