Ping
A Chinese name meaning "peaceful" or "level".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Ping. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 62.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Ping today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ping births was 1991 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ping. 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 Ping. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
1991
6 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1991 SSA rank
#7,987
Tracked since 1976
Census
Ping in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,427 people with the first name Ping, which placed it at #3,015 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
#3,015
National first-name rank
People counted
7.4K
7,427 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ping
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ping is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Two or More Races (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 Ping 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 Ping at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.4% · 7,311
- White0.8% · 60
- Two or more races0.3% · 19
- Black or African American0.2% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Ping
Ping is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 16 total registrations, 6 (37.5%) were male and 10 (62.5%) were female.
Ping as a male name
- Ranked #7,987 in 1991
- 6 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1991 (6 births)
Ping as a female name
- Ranked #15,114 in 1994
- 5 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1976 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ping on both sides of the split. Of the 7,428 people counted with this name, 2,205 were male (29.7%) and 5,223 were female (70.3%).
Popularity
Ping: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ping from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 11 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
Ping 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 Ping 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 Ping
The name Ping has its origins in Chinese culture and language. It is a unisex name that is believed to have derived from the Chinese word "ping" which means "peaceful" or "tranquil." The name has been in use for centuries, with records dating back to ancient China.
Ping has been a popular name among Chinese families for generations, often given to children with the hope that they will live a peaceful and harmonious life. In Chinese mythology, there are references to characters with the name Ping, although the specific details are scarce.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ping can be found in the historical records of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). During this period, there was a famous poet and scholar named Ping Xingxiu (575-648 AD) who was renowned for his literary works and contributions to the arts.
Another notable figure in history with the name Ping was Ping Jiqing (1633-1719), a Chinese philosopher and writer during the Qing Dynasty. He was known for his influential works on Confucianism and his teachings on moral cultivation.
In the realm of sports, Ping Pong, the Olympic table tennis player from China (born in 1988), has brought international recognition to the name. His exceptional skills and numerous achievements in the sport have made him a household name.
Moving to the world of entertainment, Ping Lumpraploeng (born in 1981) is a famous Thai actress and model who has starred in numerous films and television series. Her talent and popularity have contributed to the global recognition of the name Ping.
Lastly, Ping Fu (born in 1958) is a notable Chinese-American entrepreneur and author. She is the co-founder of Geomagic, a pioneering company in the field of 3D software and hardware. Her inspirational life story and business success have brought attention to the name Ping in the Western world.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Ping, showcasing its enduring presence and significance across various cultures and fields.
People
Ping + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ping 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
Ping: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ping?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ping 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Ping a common name?
We classify Ping as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ping most popular?
The single biggest year for Ping was 1991, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ping is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ping in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,427 people with the name Ping, or 2.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,015 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 Ping 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 Ping?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ping on both sides of the split. Of the 7,428 people counted with this name, 2,205 were male (29.7%) and 5,223 were female (70.3%). 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 Ping?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ping is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Two or More Races (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 Ping most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ping in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (7,311 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 Ping in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ping a female name?
Yes, 62.5% of people registered as Ping 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 Ping still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ping 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 Ping 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 Ping?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.