Vannak
An Indian given name meaning happy, prosperous, or delightful.
Name Census estimates that about 48 living Americans carry the first name Vannak. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vannak today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vannak births was 1987 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vannak. 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 Vannak. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
48
~ 1 in 7,140,715 Americans
Peak year
1987
11 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1997 SSA rank
#9,208
Tracked since 1983
Census
Vannak in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 343 people with the first name Vannak, which placed it at #26,904 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
#26,904
National first-name rank
People counted
343
343 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vannak
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vannak is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.2%) and White (0.9%). 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 Vannak 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 Vannak at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.4% · 334
- Two or more races1.2% · 4
- White0.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Vannak: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vannak from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 39 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
Vannak 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 Vannak during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vannaks live
Origin
Meaning and history of Vannak
The name Vannak has its origins in the Khmer language, which is the official language of Cambodia. It is believed to have emerged during the Angkorian period, which spanned from the 9th to the 15th century AD. The name is derived from the Khmer word "vannakār," which means "forest" or "wilderness."
Historically, the name Vannak was often associated with individuals who lived in or near forested areas or had a deep connection with nature. In ancient Khmer texts and inscriptions, the name appears as a surname, indicating that it was a common name among certain families or clans.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vannak can be found in the Khmer inscriptions from the 12th century, where it is mentioned as the name of a high-ranking official during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. This official, known as Vannak Khmau, was responsible for overseeing the construction of numerous temples and monuments in the Angkor region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Vannak. One such person was Vannak Bopha (born in the 16th century), a renowned Khmer poet and scholar who authored several literary works that are still studied and celebrated today. Another famous Vannak was Vannak Pheakdey (1899-1969), a Cambodian politician and statesman who played a crucial role in the country's struggle for independence from French colonial rule.
In the realm of arts and culture, Vannak Virachak (1856-1924) was a celebrated Khmer painter and sculptor who is remembered for his intricate and detailed depictions of religious and mythological scenes. Additionally, Vannak Naron (1924-2008) was a highly acclaimed Cambodian filmmaker and actor who helped shape the country's early cinema industry.
More recently, Vannak Prum (born in 1970) is a Cambodian-American artist and sculptor who has gained international recognition for his intricate and thought-provoking works that explore themes of identity, memory, and resilience in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Vannak throughout history, each making significant contributions to their respective fields and leaving a lasting legacy.
People
Vannak + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vannak as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vannak: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vannak?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 48 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vannak 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 7,140,715 US residents.
Is Vannak a common name?
We classify Vannak as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 50 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vannak most popular?
The single biggest year for Vannak was 1987, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vannak 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 Vannak in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 343 people with the name Vannak, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,904 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 Vannak 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 Vannak?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Vannak on both sides of the split. Of the 345 people counted with this name, 264 were male (76.5%) and 81 were female (23.5%). 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 Vannak?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vannak is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.2%) and White (0.9%). 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 Vannak most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Vannak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (334 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 Vannak in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vannak a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vannak 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 Vannak still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vannak 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 Vannak 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 called Vannak?
You can see how many Americans are named Vannak on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.