Samnang
A masculine Khmer name meaning "lucky" or "fortunate".
Name Census estimates that about 160 living Americans carry the first name Samnang. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Samnang today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samnang births was 1986 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samnang. 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
160
~ 1 in 2,142,215 Americans
Peak year
1986
32 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2005 SSA rank
#7,013
Tracked since 1980
Census
Samnang in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 752 people with the first name Samnang, which placed it at #15,339 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
#15,339
National first-name rank
People counted
752
752 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samnang
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samnang is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Hispanic (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 Samnang 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 Samnang at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.1% · 730
- White1.2% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 6
- Two or more races0.7% · 5
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Samnang
Samnang leans heavily male at 83.2% of total registrations, but 28 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Samnang as a male name
- Ranked #13,002 in 2005
- 5 male births in 2005
- Peak: 1986 (22 births)
Samnang as a female name
- Ranked #7,013 in 1986
- 10 female births in 1986
- Peak: 1986 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Samnang on both sides of the split. Of the 751 people counted with this name, 544 were male (72.4%) and 207 were female (27.6%).
Popularity
Samnang: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samnang from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 144 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
Samnang 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 Samnang during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samnangs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Samnang
The name Samnang is a Khmer name with origins in Cambodia. It is a compound word derived from the Khmer words "sam" meaning "together" and "nang" meaning "to stay or live". The name thus conveys the meaning of "living together" or "in harmony".
According to linguistic records, the name Samnang has been used in Cambodia for centuries, dating back to the Angkorian era (9th to 15th century). It was a common name among the Khmer people during the reign of the Khmer Empire, one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia at the time.
While the name does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have been influenced by the Buddhist concept of living in harmony and peace with others, which was a central teaching in Khmer culture.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Samnang is Samnang Khun, a renowned Khmer scholar and poet who lived during the 16th century. He is best known for his work "Cpap' Samnang Khun", a collection of poems and literary writings that is considered a masterpiece of Khmer literature.
Another notable figure with the name Samnang is Samnang Thi (1863-1936), a Cambodian poet and writer who is celebrated for his contributions to the revival of Khmer literature during the French colonial period.
In more recent history, Samnang Kith (born 1952) is a prominent Cambodian painter and artist who is known for his vibrant depictions of Khmer culture and traditions. His works have been exhibited internationally and are highly regarded in the art world.
Samnang Souphanouvong (born 1942) is a Lao revolutionary and politician who served as the first President of Laos from 1975 to 1992. He played a key role in the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
Samnang Chhon (born 1964) is a Cambodian author and poet who has written extensively on Khmer culture, history, and literature. His works have been translated into several languages and have received critical acclaim both in Cambodia and internationally.
People
Samnang + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samnang as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Samnang: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samnang?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 160 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samnang 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 2,142,215 US residents.
Is Samnang a common name?
We classify Samnang as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samnang most popular?
The single biggest year for Samnang was 1986, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samnang is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Samnang in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 752 people with the name Samnang, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,339 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 Samnang 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 Samnang?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Samnang on both sides of the split. Of the 751 people counted with this name, 544 were male (72.4%) and 207 were female (27.6%). 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 Samnang?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samnang is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Hispanic (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 Samnang most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Samnang in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (730 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 Samnang in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samnang a male name?
Yes, 83.2% of people registered as Samnang 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 Samnang still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samnang 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 Samnang 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 Americans are named Samnang?
Want to know how many people have the name Samnang? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.