Sunwoo
A Korean name meaning "excellence as bright as the sun".
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Sunwoo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sunwoo today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sunwoo births was 2022 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sunwoo. 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 Sunwoo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
2022
7 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,706
Tracked since 2018
Census
Sunwoo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 307 people with the first name Sunwoo, which placed it at #29,019 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
#29,019
National first-name rank
People counted
307
307 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sunwoo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sunwoo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and Black (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 Sunwoo 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 Sunwoo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.8% · 291
- White2.3% · 7
- Black or African American1.3% · 4
- Two or more races1.0% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Sunwoo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sunwoo from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 12 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
Sunwoo 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 Sunwoo 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 Sunwoo
The name Sunwoo is believed to have originated in Korea, where it has been in use for centuries. It is a combination of the Korean words "sun," meaning "good" or "virtuous," and "woo," meaning "friend" or "companion." Together, the name Sunwoo can be interpreted to mean "good friend" or "virtuous companion."
The earliest known records of the name Sunwoo date back to the Goryeo Dynasty, which ruled the Korean peninsula from 918 to 1392 AD. During this period, the name was often associated with scholars and intellectuals, as the pursuit of knowledge and virtue was highly valued in Korean society.
One of the most notable historical figures to bear the name Sunwoo was Sunwoo Ji-won, a renowned 15th century Neo-Confucian scholar and philosopher. Ji-won was born in 1437 and is celebrated for his contributions to the development of Korean Confucian thought and his influential writings on ethics and moral philosophy.
Another significant figure in Korean history was Sunwoo Yun-gyu, a 19th century reformer and diplomat who played a crucial role in the modernization of Korea during the late Joseon Dynasty. Yun-gyu was born in 1835 and is remembered for his efforts to promote Western learning and technology in Korea, as well as his diplomatic missions to Japan and China.
In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook the legacy of Sunwoo Hwi, a celebrated 20th century poet and novelist. Born in 1919, Hwi's works explored themes of identity, nationalism, and the human condition, earning him widespread acclaim and recognition as one of the most influential writers of modern Korean literature.
Beyond Korea, the name Sunwoo has also found resonance in other cultures and communities. In Japan, for instance, the name Sunwoo Tetsushi was borne by a renowned 16th century Buddhist monk and calligrapher, known for his elegant brushwork and contributions to the art of Zen calligraphy.
While the name Sunwoo may have originated in Korea, its meaning and significance have transcended borders, inspiring individuals across various cultures and eras to embrace the virtues of goodness, friendship, and companionship.
People
Sunwoo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sunwoo 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
Sunwoo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sunwoo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sunwoo 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Sunwoo a common name?
We classify Sunwoo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sunwoo most popular?
The single biggest year for Sunwoo was 2022, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sunwoo is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sunwoo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 307 people with the name Sunwoo, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,019 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 Sunwoo 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 Sunwoo?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sunwoo on both sides of the split. Of the 310 people counted with this name, 175 were male (56.5%) and 135 were female (43.5%). 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 Sunwoo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sunwoo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and Black (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 Sunwoo most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sunwoo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (291 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 Sunwoo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sunwoo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sunwoo 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 Sunwoo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sunwoo 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 Sunwoo 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 have the name Sunwoo?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Sunwoo, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.