Vung
A Vietnamese masculine name meaning "small plain" or "field".
Name Census estimates that about 176 living Americans carry the first name Vung. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vung today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vung births was 2016 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vung. 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
176
~ 1 in 1,947,468 Americans
Peak year
2016
17 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,013
Tracked since 2010
Census
Vung in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 682 people with the first name Vung, which placed it at #16,503 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
#16,503
National first-name rank
People counted
682
682 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
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 Vung
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (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 Vung 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 Vung at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.4% · 671
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 5
- White0.6% · 4
- Two or more races0.3% · 2
Popularity
Vung: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vung from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 131 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Vung remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vung 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 Vung during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vungs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Vung
The name Vung is believed to have originated from the Khmer language spoken in Cambodia and parts of Thailand. Its roots can be traced back to the Angkorian period, which lasted from the 9th to the 15th century AD. The name is thought to be derived from the ancient Khmer word "vung," which means "golden" or "precious."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vung can be found in the inscriptions of the Bayon temple, a massive Buddhist temple located in the ancient city of Angkor Thom. Built in the late 12th century, the temple was commissioned by King Jayavarman VII and features intricate bas-reliefs depicting scenes from everyday life during that era.
In the 14th century, a prominent Khmer scholar and poet named Vung Chhun Chhorn is believed to have lived. His writings, which explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality, were widely celebrated and influential during his time. Unfortunately, few details about his life have survived to the present day.
During the 16th century, a Cambodian prince named Vung Chan Reachea played a significant role in the kingdom's struggles against Siamese (Thai) invasions. He is remembered for his bravery and leadership in defending his homeland, although his efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful in the face of a superior Siamese force.
In the 19th century, a Buddhist monk named Vung Samun Tharo gained widespread recognition for his teachings and scholarly works on Buddhist philosophy and Khmer literature. He is credited with preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of Cambodia during a turbulent period of its history.
More recently, a Cambodian film director and screenwriter named Vung Sakoun (1943-2022) achieved international acclaim for his works exploring the complexities of Cambodian society and the lasting impact of the Khmer Rouge regime. His films, such as "The Rice People" and "The Haunting Past," have been celebrated at numerous international film festivals.
While the name Vung may have its origins in ancient Khmer culture, it continues to be used in modern times, carrying with it a rich historical legacy and cultural significance.
People
Vung + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vung 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
Vung: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vung?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 176 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vung 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 1,947,468 US residents.
Is Vung a common name?
We classify Vung as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vung most popular?
The single biggest year for Vung was 2016, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vung is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vung in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 682 people with the name Vung, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,503 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 Vung 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 Vung?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vung leans strongly female. 609 people counted with this name were female (88.6%), compared with 78 male bearers (11.4%). 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 Vung?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (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 Vung most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Vung in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (671 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 Vung in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vung a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vung 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 Vung still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vung 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 Vung 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 named Vung?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.