Find out how popular the last name Fung is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Fung.

Fung, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Fung surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fung in America

Fung is the 4024th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fung surname appeared 8,837 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Fung.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fung to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Fung

The surname FUNG is of Chinese origin and is believed to have originated in the Guangdong province of southern China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is a romanization of the Cantonese pronunciation of the Chinese character 馮, which is typically associated with the Mandarin pronunciation "Fēng".

The Chinese character 馮 has its roots in the ancient Chinese word "fung," which means "wind" or "breeze." It is likely that the surname was initially bestowed upon individuals who lived in areas known for their windy conditions or who were associated with occupations related to wind, such as sailing or wind-powered mills.

In ancient Chinese records, the earliest known reference to the FUNG surname can be found in the "Records of the Grand Historian" (史記), a monumental historical work by Sima Qian, written around 100 BC. This text mentions several individuals with the surname FUNG, indicating its existence during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD).

One notable figure in Chinese history bearing the FUNG surname was Fung Yüan (1554-1619), a renowned scholar and philosopher during the Ming Dynasty. He is best known for his work on Neo-Confucian philosophy and his contributions to the development of the "School of Mind" (心學) movement.

Another significant figure was Fung Tao-fen (1905-1976), a Chinese mathematician and physicist who made important contributions to the fields of electromagnetic theory and relativity. He was also a pioneer in the development of Chinese mathematics education.

In the realm of literature, Fung Ping Shan (1898-1985) was a prominent Chinese author and poet from Hong Kong. He is celebrated for his novels and short stories that explored the complexities of modern urban life and the cultural clashes between traditional Chinese values and Western influences.

The FUNG surname has also been associated with various place names throughout China. For instance, the town of Fengshun (鳳順) in Guangdong Province incorporates the character 馮 in its name, suggesting a possible connection to the surname's origins.

It is worth noting that the FUNG surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Feng, Foong, and Fong, among others. These variations arose due to the complexities of transliterating Chinese characters into different languages and dialects.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fung

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Fung.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Fung was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Fung has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Fung was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Fung, please contact us.

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