Yun
A feminine Korean name meaning "clouds" or "beautiful as a cloud".
Name Census estimates that about 100 living Americans carry the first name Yun. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Yun today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yun births was 1985 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yun. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Yun with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
100
~ 1 in 3,427,543 Americans
Peak year
1985
15 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2006 SSA rank
#13,980
Tracked since 1975
Census
Yun in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,475 people with the first name Yun, which placed it at #2,997 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
#2,997
National first-name rank
People counted
7.5K
7,475 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yun
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yun is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.0%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Yun 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 Yun at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.0% · 7,323
- White0.9% · 69
- Two or more races0.5% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 24
- Black or African American0.2% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Yun
Yun is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 104 total registrations, 26 (25.0%) were male and 78 (75.0%) were female.
Yun as a male name
- Ranked #13,980 in 2006
- 5 male births in 2006
- Peak: 1985 (6 births)
Yun as a female name
- Ranked #18,791 in 2016
- 5 female births in 2016
- Peak: 1980 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Yun on both sides of the split. Of the 7,480 people counted with this name, 2,170 were male (29.0%) and 5,310 were female (71.0%).
Popularity
Yun: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yun 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 51 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
Yun 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 Yun 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 Yun
The name Yun has its origins in various Asian cultures and languages, with a rich history that spans centuries. It is believed to have first emerged as a name in Chinese and Korean cultures, where it carried meanings related to clouds, grace, and beauty.
In Chinese, the character for Yun (云) represents clouds, and the name was often associated with the ethereal and poetic qualities of clouds. It was a popular name for both males and females, reflecting a desire for the child to possess a gentle and graceful nature.
Korean culture also embraced the name Yun (윤), where it held connotations of elegance, refinement, and the cyclical nature of seasons. The name was particularly favored for girls, as it evoked a sense of femininity and grace.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yun can be found in Chinese literature from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). The renowned poet Li Bai (701-762 AD) wrote poems featuring characters with the name Yun, reflecting the name's association with beauty and nature.
In Korea, the name Yun gained prominence during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392 AD), when it was often bestowed upon members of the royal family and nobility. Princess Yun Hwanghye (1265-1354), a renowned Buddhist nun and poet, was one of the most notable figures to bear this name during this period.
Throughout history, several influential individuals have carried the name Yun. Yun Shouping (1633-1690), a Chinese painter and calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty, was renowned for his innovative techniques and artistic style.
Yun Nae-hyun (1616-1670), a Korean scholar and diplomat, played a crucial role in diplomatic relations between Korea and China during the Joseon Dynasty.
Yun Dong-ju (1917-1945), a celebrated Korean poet, is renowned for his poignant works that explored themes of resistance and oppression during Japan's colonial rule over Korea.
Yun Isang (1917-1995), a Korean composer, is considered one of the pioneers of avant-garde music, blending traditional Korean influences with Western techniques.
Yun Chi-ho (1864-1945), a Korean independence activist and educator, was instrumental in promoting modern education and advocating for Korea's independence from Japanese occupation.
While the name Yun has maintained its cultural significance and popularity in various Asian countries, its meaning and symbolism have evolved over time, reflecting the diverse histories and perspectives of the regions where it has been embraced.
People
Yun + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yun as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yun: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yun?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 100 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yun 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 3,427,543 US residents.
Is Yun a common name?
We classify Yun as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yun most popular?
The single biggest year for Yun was 1985, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yun is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yun in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,475 people with the name Yun, or 2.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,997 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 Yun 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 Yun?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Yun on both sides of the split. Of the 7,480 people counted with this name, 2,170 were male (29.0%) and 5,310 were female (71.0%). 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 Yun?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yun is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.0%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Yun most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Yun in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (7,323 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 Yun in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yun a female name?
Yes, 75.0% of people registered as Yun 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 Yun still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yun 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 Yun 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 Yun?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.