Thuong
A Vietnamese name of uncertain meaning, possibly related to "thuong" meaning "superior".
Name Census estimates that about 42 living Americans carry the first name Thuong. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 84.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Thuong today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thuong births was 1982 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thuong. 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 Thuong. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
42
~ 1 in 8,160,818 Americans
Peak year
1982
8 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1993 SSA rank
#7,549
Tracked since 1982
Census
Thuong in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,055 people with the first name Thuong, which placed it at #7,435 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
#7,435
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,055 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
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 Thuong
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thuong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.6%) and White (0.5%). 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 Thuong 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 Thuong at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.4% · 2,023
- Two or more races0.6% · 12
- White0.5% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Thuong
Thuong leans heavily female at 84.1% of total registrations, but 7 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Thuong as a male name
- Ranked #7,549 in 1993
- 7 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1993 (7 births)
Thuong as a female name
- Ranked #15,581 in 1995
- 5 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1982 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Thuong on both sides of the split. Of the 2,057 people counted with this name, 854 were male (41.5%) and 1,203 were female (58.5%).
Popularity
Thuong: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thuong from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 24 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
Thuong 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 Thuong 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 Thuong
The name Thuong has its origins in the Vietnamese language, where it is a popular given name for both males and females. It is believed to have derived from the ancient Vietnamese word "thuong," which means "respect" or "honor." The name is thought to have emerged during the Ly Dynasty, which ruled over Vietnam from 1009 to 1225 AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thuong can be found in the "Complete Annals of Dai Viet," a historical text compiled during the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400 AD). The annals mention several individuals with the name Thuong, including a prominent mandarin (government official) who served under the Tran emperors.
Throughout Vietnamese history, the name Thuong has been borne by several notable figures. One of the most famous was Thuong Quan Am, a Buddhist monk who lived during the 16th century and is revered for his contributions to the spread of Buddhism in Vietnam. Another notable figure was Thuong Hien Oanh, a renowned poet and scholar who lived in the 18th century and was known for her elegant verse.
In the 19th century, Thuong Trai was a celebrated Vietnamese scholar and philosopher who played a significant role in the development of the Nho Giao (Confucian) school of thought in Vietnam. His writings and teachings had a profound influence on Vietnamese intellectual and cultural life.
During the 20th century, Thuong Xuan was a prominent Vietnamese artist who was renowned for his intricate woodblock prints depicting scenes from traditional Vietnamese life. His works are considered treasures of Vietnamese cultural heritage and are displayed in museums around the world.
While the name Thuong is primarily associated with Vietnamese culture, it has also been adopted by individuals from other Southeast Asian countries with strong historical and cultural ties to Vietnam, such as Laos and Cambodia. However, the name remains most prevalent in Vietnam, where it continues to be a popular choice for parents seeking a name that reflects the values of respect and honor.
People
Thuong + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thuong as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Thuong: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thuong?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 42 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thuong 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 8,160,818 US residents.
Is Thuong a common name?
We classify Thuong as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 44 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thuong most popular?
The single biggest year for Thuong was 1982, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thuong is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Thuong in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,055 people with the name Thuong, or 0.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,435 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 Thuong 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 Thuong?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Thuong on both sides of the split. Of the 2,057 people counted with this name, 854 were male (41.5%) and 1,203 were female (58.5%). 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 Thuong?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thuong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.6%) and White (0.5%). 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 Thuong most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Thuong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (2,023 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 Thuong in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thuong a female name?
Yes, 84.1% of people registered as Thuong 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 Thuong still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thuong 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 Thuong 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 Thuong?
See how many people share the name Thuong on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.