Un
A Korean family name or given name of Chinese origin.
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Un. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Un today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Un births was 1978 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Un. 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 Un. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
1978
7 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1989 SSA rank
#6,887
Tracked since 1978
Census
Un in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,320 people with the first name Un, which placed it at #10,194 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
#10,194
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,320 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
80.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Un
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Un is Asian/Pacific Islander at 80.3%. The next largest groups are White (9.8%) and Black (4.6%). 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 Un 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 Un at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander80.3% · 1,060
- White9.8% · 130
- Black or African American4.6% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 52
- Two or more races0.9% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Un
Un is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 14 total registrations, 7 (50.0%) were male and 7 (50.0%) were female.
Un as a male name
- Ranked #6,887 in 1989
- 7 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (7 births)
Un as a female name
- Ranked #8,521 in 1978
- 7 female births in 1978
- Peak: 1978 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Un on both sides of the split. Of the 1,329 people counted with this name, 304 were male (22.9%) and 1,025 were female (77.1%).
Popularity
Un: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Un from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 7 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
Un 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 Un during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Uns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Un
The given name Un is a relatively obscure name that has its origins in various ancient cultures and languages. It is believed to have derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "un," which means "one" or "single." This root is also found in other words such as "unique" and "universe."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Un can be traced back to ancient Sumerian cuneiform tablets, where it was used as a title or epithet for deities and rulers. In Sumerian mythology, Un was associated with the god of the moon and wisdom, Sin or Nanna.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, Un was the name of a primordial deity, representing the chaotic waters that existed before the creation of the world. This deity was sometimes depicted as a serpent or a frog and was believed to have played a role in the creation myth.
The name Un also appears in various ancient Indian texts, such as the Upanishads and the Vedas. In these texts, it is often used as a prefix or a syllable in longer names, representing the idea of unity or oneness.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Un was Un-amen, an Egyptian prince who lived during the 18th Dynasty (c. 1550–1292 BCE). He was the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye.
Another notable figure was Un-nefer, an ancient Egyptian official and architect who lived during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten (c. 1353–1336 BCE). He was responsible for the construction of several important buildings in the city of Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna).
In ancient Greek mythology, there was a figure named Un, who was a son of the nymph Calypso and the god Odysseus. He was mentioned in some versions of the Odyssey as being raised by his mother on the island of Ogygia.
During the Middle Ages, there was a Welsh poet and prince named Un ap Rhodri, who lived in the late 9th century CE. He was known for his contributions to the development of Welsh literature and culture.
In more recent times, there was an American artist and sculptor named Un'itis'ivy, who was born in 1900 and died in 1968. He was a member of the Pueblo Native American tribe and is known for his works depicting traditional Pueblo life and culture.
While the name Un is relatively uncommon in modern times, it has a rich history that spans various ancient cultures and traditions, serving as a reminder of the diverse origins and meanings of names from around the world.
People
Un + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Un as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Un: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Un?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Un 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 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Un a common name?
We classify Un as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Un most popular?
The single biggest year for Un was 1978, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Un is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Un in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,320 people with the name Un, or 0.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,194 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 Un 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 Un?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Un on both sides of the split. Of the 1,329 people counted with this name, 304 were male (22.9%) and 1,025 were female (77.1%). 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 Un?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Un is Asian/Pacific Islander at 80.3%. The next largest groups are White (9.8%) and Black (4.6%). 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 Un most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Un in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (1,060 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 Un in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Un a female name?
Yes, 50.0% of people registered as Un 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 Un still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Un 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 Un 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 Un?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Un on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.