Wong
A modern Chinese unisex given name meaning "prosperous" or "bright".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Wong. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wong today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wong births was 1888 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wong. 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 Wong. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1888
12 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1994 SSA rank
#10,199
Tracked since 1880
Census
Wong in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 431 people with the first name Wong, which placed it at #22,918 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
#22,918
National first-name rank
People counted
431
431 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
88.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wong
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and White (3.5%). 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 Wong 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 Wong at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander88.4% · 381
- Black or African American3.7% · 16
- White3.5% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 12
- Two or more races1.6% · 7
Popularity
Wong: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wong from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1880s, with 68 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1880s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wong 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 Wong 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 Wong
The given name Wong has its origins in the Chinese language and culture, dating back several centuries. It is derived from the Chinese character "王," which means "king" or "ruler." This character is deeply rooted in Chinese history and tradition, often associated with royalty, power, and authority.
In ancient China, the name Wong was commonly bestowed upon individuals born into noble or royal families, as it carried a sense of prestige and honor. The earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in historical records and literature from the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), where it was used by members of the imperial family and aristocracy.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Wong was Wong Xizhi, a renowned calligrapher who lived during the Jin Dynasty (265–420 AD). His works are celebrated as masterpieces of Chinese calligraphy and have influenced generations of calligraphers throughout history.
Another prominent individual with the name Wong was Wong Qiqian, a renowned scholar and statesman who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD). He was highly respected for his intellectual prowess and contributions to Chinese literature and philosophy.
During the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD), the name Wong gained further prominence with the rise of Neo-Confucianism. Wong Shouren, a celebrated Neo-Confucian philosopher and commentator on the Confucian classics, was a prominent figure of this era.
In more recent history, Wong Fei-hung, a famous martial artist and physician who lived during the late Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), was widely renowned for his mastery of the Hung Gar style of martial arts and his contributions to traditional Chinese medicine.
Wong Kar-wai, a celebrated Hong Kong filmmaker and director, is another notable figure who has carried the name Wong. He is widely acclaimed for his critically acclaimed films, such as "Chungking Express" and "In the Mood for Love," which have garnered international recognition.
While the name Wong has its roots in Chinese culture, it has also been adopted and used in various other Asian communities, particularly in regions with significant Chinese diaspora populations. Regardless of its geographic location, the name continues to carry a sense of regal heritage and cultural significance.
People
Wong + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wong as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wong: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wong?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wong 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Wong a common name?
We classify Wong as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 187 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wong most popular?
The single biggest year for Wong was 1888, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wong is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wong in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 431 people with the name Wong, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,918 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 Wong 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 Wong?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Wong on both sides of the split. Of the 436 people counted with this name, 292 were male (67.0%) and 144 were female (33.0%). 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 Wong?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and White (3.5%). 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 Wong most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Wong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.4% (381 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 Wong in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wong a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wong 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 Wong still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wong 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 Wong 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 share the name Wong?
Want to know how many Americans are named Wong? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.