2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Coolong
An Anglicized surname derived from a location name in Ireland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Coolong. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coolong surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Coolong in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coolong, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coolong
The surname COOLONG originated in the Guangdong province of southern China during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is derived from the Cantonese word "kouluhng", which means "hilly land" or "undulating terrain". This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone living in a hilly or mountainous region.
COOLONG is a romanized spelling of the original Cantonese pronunciation, as the Chinese language did not have a standardized romanization system until the late 19th century. Various similar spellings, such as Koulong, Koolong, and Cooloong, may have been used by early immigrants to Western countries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the COOLONG surname appears in a local tax registry from Guangdong Province, dated 1573. This document lists a certain "Kouluhng Yip" as a landowner in the village of Taishan.
Another notable early reference is the 1698 maritime log of a Portuguese trading vessel, which mentions a Chinese sailor named "Cooloong Lam" among the crew members. This suggests that individuals with this surname had begun to migrate and travel abroad by the late 17th century.
In the 19th century, several COOLONG families immigrated to the United States and other Western countries during the Chinese diaspora. One of the earliest documented examples is Liang COOLONG (1824-1901), a merchant who settled in San Francisco in the 1850s and became a prominent figure in the city's Chinese community.
Other notable individuals with the COOLONG surname include:
1. Yuen COOLONG (1863-1936), a Chinese-American businessman and community leader in New York City.
2. Wei COOLONG (1901-1989), a renowned Chinese calligrapher and artist from Guangdong.
3. Mei-Ling COOLONG (1915-2005), a Chinese-American author and educator who wrote extensively about her experiences as an immigrant in the United States.
4. Chen COOLONG (1928-2018), a Singaporean politician and diplomat who served as the country's ambassador to several nations.
5. David COOLONG (born 1971), an American academic and expert in plant science and horticulture at North Carolina State University.
While the COOLONG surname is not among the most common in the world, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and can be traced back to its origins in southern China's Guangdong region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coolong
Among Census respondents with the surname Coolong, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Coolong bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Coolong surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 95
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.8% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coolong
Coolong appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#133,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
+3 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,915 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-22 bearers (-17.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 19,727 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 5,915 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -22 bearers (-17.5%) | Down 19,727 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Coolong surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #133,863 | #153,590 | -14.7% |
| Count | 126 | 104 | -17.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coolong bearers went from 126 to 104 (-17.5% change). The surname moved down 19,727 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #153,590.
FAQ
Coolong surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coolong?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Coolong. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Coolong?
Coolong ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Coolong. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Coolong.
Has Coolong become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coolong went from 126 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 22 (-17.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Coolong?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coolong, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Coolong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coolong appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8%), Hispanic (2.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Coolong (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Coolong mean?
An Anglicized surname derived from a location name in Ireland. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Coolong (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Coolong?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Coolong on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.