Sokhom
Well-being, prosperity, happiness.
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Sokhom. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 52.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Sokhom today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sokhom births was 1987 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sokhom. 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 Sokhom. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1987
13 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1988 SSA rank
#7,132
Tracked since 1985
Census
Sokhom in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 493 people with the first name Sokhom, which placed it at #20,821 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
#20,821
National first-name rank
People counted
493
493 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sokhom
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sokhom is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.6%) and White (0.4%). 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 Sokhom 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 Sokhom at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.6% · 481
- Two or more races1.6% · 8
- White0.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Sokhom
Sokhom is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 25 total registrations, 13 (52.0%) were male and 12 (48.0%) were female.
Sokhom as a male name
- Ranked #7,132 in 1988
- 6 male births in 1988
- Peak: 1987 (7 births)
Sokhom as a female name
- Ranked #11,113 in 1987
- 6 female births in 1987
- Peak: 1985 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sokhom on both sides of the split. Of the 494 people counted with this name, 218 were male (44.1%) and 276 were female (55.9%).
Popularity
Sokhom: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sokhom 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 Sokhom during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 13 | 12 | 25 |
Geography
Where Sokhoms live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sokhom
The name Sokhom has its origins in the Khmer language of Cambodia. It is derived from the ancient Khmer words "sok" meaning "happy" and "hom" meaning "together", thus the name can be interpreted as "together in happiness". This name dates back to the Angkorian period of the Khmer Empire, which lasted from the 9th to 15th centuries AD.
The name Sokhom first appeared in inscriptions and historical records from the Angkor region during the height of the Khmer Empire. It was a name commonly given to boys born into noble or royal families, as it was believed to bring good fortune and prosperity.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Sokhom was a high-ranking official and advisor to King Jayavarman VII, who ruled the Khmer Empire from 1181 to 1215 AD. This Sokhom was celebrated for his wisdom and contributions to the empire's governance.
In the 14th century, a Khmer Buddhist monk named Sokhom Preah Thammikarath gained fame for his teachings and efforts to preserve Buddhist traditions during a time of political upheaval. His writings and teachings were influential in shaping the religious and cultural landscape of the region.
During the 16th century, a Khmer poet and musician named Sokhom Nang Neak was renowned for his contributions to the development of traditional Cambodian dance and music. His compositions and performances were celebrated throughout the kingdom.
In the 19th century, a Cambodian leader named Sokhom Vong played a pivotal role in the resistance against the Siamese (Thai) occupation of Cambodia. He organized and led a rebellion that ultimately helped to restore Cambodian independence and sovereignty.
Another notable figure named Sokhom was a Cambodian diplomat and politician, Sokhom Hing, who served as the country's ambassador to the United States in the 1960s and played a crucial role in shaping Cambodia's foreign relations during that period.
People
Sokhom + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sokhom 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
Sokhom: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sokhom?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sokhom 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Sokhom a common name?
We classify Sokhom as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sokhom most popular?
The single biggest year for Sokhom was 1987, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sokhom 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 Sokhom in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 493 people with the name Sokhom, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,821 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 Sokhom 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 Sokhom?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sokhom on both sides of the split. Of the 494 people counted with this name, 218 were male (44.1%) and 276 were female (55.9%). 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 Sokhom?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sokhom is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.6%) and White (0.4%). 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 Sokhom most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sokhom in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.6% (481 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 Sokhom in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sokhom a male name?
Yes, 52.0% of people registered as Sokhom 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 Sokhom still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sokhom 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 Sokhom 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 called Sokhom?
You can see how many people share the name Sokhom on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.