Tung
A masculine Vietnamese name meaning "gift" or "bestowed".
Name Census estimates that about 212 living Americans carry the first name Tung. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tung today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tung births was 1981 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tung. 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
212
~ 1 in 1,616,766 Americans
Peak year
1981
22 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,166
Tracked since 1976
Census
Tung in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,566 people with the first name Tung, which placed it at #4,188 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
#4,188
National first-name rank
People counted
4.6K
4,566 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
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 Tung
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.7%) and White (0.6%). 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 Tung 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 Tung at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.4% · 4,493
- Two or more races0.7% · 32
- White0.6% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 7
- Black or African American0.1% · 6
Popularity
Tung: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tung from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 142 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
Tung 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 Tung during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tungs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tung
The given name Tung originates from Chinese and Vietnamese cultures, with its roots tracing back to ancient times. In Chinese, the character 同 (tóng) means "same" or "together," while in Vietnamese, the word "tung" means "raised" or "elevated." This name has been in use for centuries, carrying various meanings and associations across different regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tung can be found in ancient Chinese texts and historical records. In the Analects, a collection of Confucian teachings compiled around the 5th century BCE, there is a mention of a disciple named Tung-Kung. This suggests that the name was already in use during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China.
In Vietnamese culture, the name Tung gained prominence during the Ly Dynasty, which ruled from 1009 to 1225 CE. During this time, several influential figures bore the name, including Tung Thuan, a renowned military leader and strategist who played a crucial role in defending the kingdom against foreign invasions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Tung. One of the most famous was Tung Ch'i-ch'ang (1555-1636), a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and scholar who was highly influential during the Ming Dynasty. His works are considered masterpieces of Chinese art and continue to be celebrated today.
Another prominent figure was Tung Hsien (1593-1638), a Chinese philosopher and writer who lived during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. He was known for his philosophical works and his advocacy for social reforms, which inspired generations of scholars and intellectuals.
In the realm of literature, Tung Ngan (1866-1925) was a Vietnamese poet and writer who made significant contributions to modern Vietnamese literature. His works often explored themes of patriotism, love, and the human condition, earning him a revered place in Vietnamese cultural history.
Tung Chee-hwa (born 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong after the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. His tenure was marked by efforts to bridge the gap between Hong Kong and mainland China during a period of significant political and economic transition.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Tung throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and cultures. The name has endured across centuries, carrying diverse meanings and associations while remaining a testament to the rich cultural heritage of the regions from which it originated.
People
Tung + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tung 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
Tung: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tung?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tung 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 1,616,766 US residents.
Is Tung a common name?
We classify Tung as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 221 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tung most popular?
The single biggest year for Tung was 1981, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tung 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 Tung in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,566 people with the name Tung, or 1.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,188 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 Tung 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 Tung?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tung leans strongly male. 4,155 people counted with this name were male (90.9%), compared with 417 female bearers (9.1%). 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 Tung?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.7%) and White (0.6%). 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 Tung most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tung in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (4,493 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 Tung in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tung a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tung 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 Tung still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tung 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 Tung 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 common is the name Tung?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.