Phoua
A modern feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 95 living Americans carry the first name Phoua. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Phoua today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Phoua births was 1990 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Phoua. 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 Phoua. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
95
~ 1 in 3,607,940 Americans
Peak year
1990
17 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1997 SSA rank
#13,295
Tracked since 1980
Census
Phoua in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 411 people with the first name Phoua, which placed it at #23,711 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
#23,711
National first-name rank
People counted
411
411 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
99.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Phoua
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Phoua is Asian/Pacific Islander at 99.0%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.2%). 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 Phoua 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 Phoua at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander99.0% · 407
- White0.7% · 3
- Two or more races0.2% · 1
Popularity
Phoua: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Phoua from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 61 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Phoua 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 Phoua during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Phouas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Phoua
The name Phoua originates from the Lao language, which is primarily spoken in Laos, a country located in Southeast Asia. The name can be traced back to the ancient Lao Kingdom, which existed from the 14th to the 18th century.
Phoua is believed to be derived from the Lao word "phoua," which means "cloud" or "sky." This suggests that the name may have been associated with celestial or atmospheric elements in ancient Lao culture.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its origins can be linked to the rich cultural heritage of the Lao people, who have a strong connection with nature and the surrounding environment.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Phoua is Phoua Vongvichit, a prominent Lao politician who served as the Prime Minister of Laos from 1975 to 1992. He played a crucial role in the formation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and was instrumental in shaping the country's post-revolutionary path.
Another notable figure with the name Phoua is Phoua Xiong, an American author and activist. Born in 1984, she has written extensively about the experiences of Hmong refugees and their struggle for identity and acceptance in the United States.
In the realm of sports, Phoua Vang is a professional Muay Thai fighter from Thailand. Born in 1992, she has won several championships and is regarded as one of the top female fighters in the sport.
Phoua Thao, born in 1972, is a Hmong-American artist and educator. Her work often explores themes of cultural identity, displacement, and the complexities of the refugee experience.
Phoua Moua, born in 1978, is a Hmong-American activist and community leader. She has been instrumental in advocating for the rights and representation of the Hmong community in the United States, particularly in the areas of education and healthcare.
These individuals, spanning different fields and time periods, exemplify the rich diversity and significance of the name Phoua, which has its roots in the ancient Lao culture and language.
People
Phoua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Phoua as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Phoua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Phoua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 95 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Phoua 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 3,607,940 US residents.
Is Phoua a common name?
We classify Phoua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 99 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Phoua most popular?
The single biggest year for Phoua was 1990, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Phoua is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Phoua in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 411 people with the name Phoua, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,711 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 Phoua 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 Phoua?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Phoua leans strongly female. 405 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 9 male bearers (2.2%). 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 Phoua?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Phoua is Asian/Pacific Islander at 99.0%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.2%). 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 Phoua most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Phoua in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (407 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 Phoua in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Phoua a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Phoua in the SSA data are female. 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 Phoua still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Phoua 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 Phoua 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 Phoua?
Find out how many Americans are named Phoua on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.