Song
A feminine Chinese name meaning melody, poem, or verse.
Name Census estimates that about 269 living Americans carry the first name Song. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Song today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Song births was 1983 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Song. 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
269
~ 1 in 1,274,180 Americans
Peak year
1983
24 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,912
Tracked since 1957
Census
Song in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,526 people with the first name Song, which placed it at #3,680 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
#3,680
National first-name rank
People counted
5.5K
5,526 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Song
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Song is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Song 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 Song at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.8% · 5,293
- White1.5% · 81
- Two or more races1.3% · 74
- Black or African American0.7% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Song
Song is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 282 total registrations, 76 (27.0%) were male and 206 (73.0%) were female.
Song as a male name
- Ranked #13,912 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1982 (12 births)
Song as a female name
- Ranked #17,284 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1990 (17 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Song on both sides of the split. Of the 5,530 people counted with this name, 2,680 were male (48.5%) and 2,850 were female (51.5%).
Popularity
Song: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Song from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 132 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
Song 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 Song during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Songs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Song
The given name Song has its origins in Chinese culture and language. It is derived from the Mandarin Chinese word "song," which means "pine tree" or "evergreen." This name has been in use for centuries and has deep cultural significance.
Song is a unisex name, meaning it can be used for both males and females. In ancient China, the pine tree was a symbol of longevity, resilience, and perseverance. Giving a child the name Song was believed to bless them with a long and prosperous life.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Song can be found in historical texts and records dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). During this period, the name gained popularity among the aristocratic and scholarly classes.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Song was Song Qingling (1892-1981), a Chinese revolutionary and politician. She played a significant role in the Chinese Communist movement and was the second wife of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China.
Another famous bearer of the name was Song Huizong (1082-1135), an emperor of the Song Dynasty. He was known for his patronage of the arts and his personal interest in calligraphy and painting.
In the realm of literature, Song Lian (1310-1381) was a renowned Chinese scholar and historian during the Yuan Dynasty. He is best known for his contributions to the compilation of the "History of Yuan," a comprehensive historical record of the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty.
In the modern era, Song Qingling (1966-present), a Chinese actress and singer, has carried on the legacy of this name. She has appeared in numerous television series and films, gaining widespread popularity in mainland China and Taiwan.
Song Dong (1966-present), a prominent Chinese contemporary artist, is also a noteworthy bearer of this name. His multimedia installations and performances have been exhibited globally, exploring themes of memory, nostalgia, and the human condition.
While the name Song has ancient roots in Chinese culture, it has transcended borders and gained recognition worldwide. Its enduring popularity reflects the universal appeal of its meaning and the rich historical legacy associated with it.
People
Song + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Song 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
Song: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Song?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 269 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Song 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 1,274,180 US residents.
Is Song a common name?
We classify Song as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 282 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Song most popular?
The single biggest year for Song was 1983, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Song is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Song in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,526 people with the name Song, or 1.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,680 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 Song 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 Song?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Song on both sides of the split. Of the 5,530 people counted with this name, 2,680 were male (48.5%) and 2,850 were female (51.5%). 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 Song?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Song is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Song most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Song in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (5,293 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 Song in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Song a female name?
Yes, 73.0% of people registered as Song 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 Song still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Song 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 Song 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 Song?
Find out how many Americans are named Song on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.